High School Drama
by littlemsstrawberry
Summary: AU. He was as cold as ice. People nicknamed him "The Ice Prince". She on the other hand was as radiant as the sun, warming up peoples' hearts and giving them hope. What happens when the two meet? Will she be able to melt his hardened ice exterior?COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Hey there folks! This is my first high school fanfic. Please read and review. No flames please but I welcome constructive criticism. Also, please ignore my grammatical errors. I hope this will be better than my previous fanfic. Thank you!

Summary: AU. He was as cold as ice. People nicknamed him "The Ice Prince". She on the other hand was as radiant as the sun, warming up peoples' hearts and giving them hope. What happens when the two meet? Will she be able to melt his hardened ice exterior?

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed

Chapter 1

"I can't believe this! Great job Cagalli! You are late for your first day of school! You'll make a very good first impression!" a blonde girl muttered to herself as she dashed off to school.

Entering the hallway of ArcAngel Academy, the blonde was not surprised to see the place deserted. After all, she was late and the bell had rung a long time ago.

She was walking for ages. Everywhere she turned just led her to a new corridor where she had to make another turn. She was lost, she had no idea how to get to the office, and there was no one in sight to ask for directions. Suddenly, she saw a boy with dark blue hair coming out from one of the classrooms.

"Umm, excuse me! I'm new here and I think I'm lost. Can you please show me the way to the office?" Cagalli asked. She blushed slightly as she noticed how good looking he was. He had a pale complexion and was also lean yet muscular. His silky hair which was the colour of the night sky, reached up to his neck. As she looked up to meet his beautiful emerald green eyes, she noticed that he was devoid of expressions.

Momentarily locking eyes with her, the bluenette only turned away, leaving her to stare in shock.

The boy had completely ignored her and walked away. Cagalli was beyond pissed.

"WHAT A JACKASS! WHO THE HELL DOES HE THINK HE IS? ARGH!" Cagalli growled in frustration. She officially had just met the rudest boy in the universe.

Her bellows were obviously heard by the bluenette. But he continued walking and pretended that nothing happened.

Just then, a girl with brown hair came out from another class. Looking at the raging blonde, she decided to take the risk and approach her.

"Hello. Can I help you?" the brunette asked cautiously.

Snapping her head to the side, Cagalli's anger suddenly vanished as a new set of emotions took over.

"Y...Yes please. Can you show me the way to the office?" Cagalli said in embarrassment.

The brunette looked at Cagalli's beat red face and laughed. "Sure. I'll take you there myself since it's on my way. You're new right? I'm Miriallia Hawwe. But you can call me Mir for short."

"Yes. Thank you. I'm Cagalli Hibiki." The blonde smiled back.

… …

"Here's your schedule Miss Hibiki. Welcome to ArcAngel Academy, I hope you like it here," the administrator said warmly to Cagalli. "And don't forget to hand in this slip of paper to all your teachers for them to sign. Bring it back to me and at the end of the day ok?" The woman was in her mid forties and was very friendly. Cagalli liked her instantly.

Miriallia was waiting for Cagalli outside the office; she had finished running her errand.

"Thanks for waiting for me Mir. You don't have to do that you know."

"No problem Cagalli! I'm sure you will need help going to your next venue."

As Cagalli handed her schedule for her new found friend to see, Miriallia squealed in delight, "Oh my gosh Cagalli! We have the same class now! Oh! We have many classes together! How wonderful!"

Cagalli smiled back. She was glad that she had many classes with Mir. She was fond of Mir.

Upon entering the class, Cagalli found herself in the centre of all the attention. All the guys were gawking at her like she was the 'shiny new toy'. Cagalli personally found it very annoying. She hated all the attention. After a torturous and painful history class with all the boys staring at her, it was now break time and Mir had invited Cagalli to join her and her friends.

"Cagalli, meet Lacus, Shiho, Yzac and Dearka," Mir introduced. "Everyone, meet Cagalli."

"Hello Cagalli!" Lacus and Shiho said together.

"Whasup babe!" Dearka said cheekily which earned him a smack from Yzac.

"Just ignore him," Yzac said.

It was after settling down when Cagalli noticed him. The bluenette was sitting alone in the corner of the cafeteria. "Who the hell is he?" Cagalli whispered to Mir as she pointed to the lonesome boy.

"Oh that's Athrun Zala. He's called the ice prince." Mir replied.

"I can see why! He's such a jerk! He totally ignored me when I asked him for directions!" Cagalli scoffed.

"Yup, that's him. Cold and aloof. Many girls threw themselves at him. He rejected them all. He's always by himself. He doesn't seem to have many friends though he's the captain of the baseball team."

"If you ask me, those girls must be blind! He may be good looking but he has zero personality."

"Cagalli? What are you doing here?" All heads turned to another brunette who just spoke.

"Well I'm studying here of course." Cagalli replied.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Mir asked.

"Yea, he's my twin," Cagalli said matter-of-factly.

"WHAT?" everyone shouted in unison.

**To be continued…**

So what do you think? Please review! There is nothing much going on in this chapter so it's a bit dry. It may remind you of twilight but it won't be because there are no vampires in here. It **will be way different**. Only this part will be a resemblance to it. Is this a bit OOC? Basically, I have not planned the whole story, so hopefully I can pull this off without running out of ideas half way. If you have any ideas or suggestions, your help will be most welcome. Also, I'm not as free as before, so I may not be able to update as fast as my previous fanfic. Please review! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

Ok. This is a very fast update. I went mad and just started writing. But I'm not sure how long I can keep this momentum. I'll try my best! Thank you so much for your reviews! They really motivated me to write! Please keep the reviews coming!

Dedications in alphabetical order: .CriMsonxLadY., Byron Lancaster, Dhevz, Jodeist, KazumiSakura, mokonamodoki93

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed

Chapter 2

"Kira you bastard! You never told us that you have a twin sister! And a hot chick for that matter!" Dearka cried.

"Don't even think about it Dearka! Lay a finger on her and I will personally wipe out that precious face of yours that you try so hard to maintain!" Kira threatened. "Besides, you already have Mir."

Dearka gulped as he subconsciously touched his face, as if checking to see if it was still intact. Kira was sure scary today. He noted to himself never to hit on Cagalli for his self-preservation.

"Oh please! I am well capable of taking care of myself little brother!" Cagalli said.

"Don't associate me with him Kira! It's an insult you know," Mir interjected.

"Hey!" Dearka cried out, pretending to be hurt. Everyone just rolled their eyes on him.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the break. All the students were making their way out of the cafeteria and heading to their next class.

"I'll walk you to your next class sis," Kira volunteered as he pulled Cagalli out of the cafeteria. "You've got some explaining to do."

"I wanted to surprise you. I arrived last night and stayed at a hotel. By the way I'm moving in with you today."

"You mean more like wanted to give me a heart attack. I thought I was hallucinating when I saw you. Does Dad know you're here?"

"Maybe."

Before Kira could further question her, Cagalli quickly slipped in to her next class.

The class was full. All the seats were taken except one; the one right at the back.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Cagalli mumbled. Apparently, the one empty seat is beside a certain someone whom she had an unpleasant encounter with, the bluenette.

"Do you have a problem Miss Hibiki?" Mr La Fllaga asked. Mwu La Fllaga who taught Cagalli history earlier on also teaches life skills class.

"Yes sir! I violently object sitting next to him!" Cagalli replied pointing to Athrun.

"Sorry kiddo. You have to put aside your personal preferences. You are sitting next to Zala and that's final."

"What?" Cagalli cried, though she did as she was told.

"Kids these days..." Mwu sighed as he started his class.

Cagalli plopped herself unhappily on the chair. From the moment she stepped into class, he just sat there at his little corner reading his book. Even when she objected sitting next to him, causing a ruckus, he still continued to read his book, not once shifting his attention away. Only when the teacher started the lesson did he put his book away and look up towards the board. Cagalli was really mad. How could he be so indifferent?

She couldn't concentrate at all and spent the entire lesson shooting daggers at him. The whole class noticed the raging aura around her and they took turns to look back and peak at her. Even the teacher noticed and would take occasional glances at her. Only Athrun managed to ignore everything and kept a straight face. This however made Cagalli angrier.

Finally the bell rang and Cagalli stomped off the class in a huff.

The time passed quickly and Cagalli's anger soon subsided. She now had no more lessons for the day. All she had to do now was to return the slip back to the office and then she was free to go home, or go back to the hotel to pack her stuff and then bring it over to Kira's house.

**The next day...**

"It's about time you wake up sleeping beauty! Any later and I'd have gotten prince charming to come up and kiss you!" Kira joked. "Breakfast?"

Cagalli came down with dishevelled hair and still clad in her sleeping attire which consisted of a tank top and a pair of shorts. She rolled her eyes at her twin who was holding a frying pan. He was wearing a blue apron with a yellow duck printed on it over his school uniform.

"Better hurry up and get dressed sis!" Kira said.

**... ... ...**

"Cagalli! Have you decided what club to join yet?" Mir asked as soon as Cagalli entered the class. "You can always join me in the photography club!"

"No way Mir! Cagalli would rather join the karate club with me! Right Cag?" Shiho interrupted.

"Come on girls! Let's not pressurise Cagalli. But just letting you know, the glee club will be happy to have you around." Lacus winked.

"Lacus!" Mir and Shiho said together as Lacus giggled.

"Thanks girls, but I already have something in mind. If it doesn't work out, I'll let you girls know," Cagalli smiled.

**... ... ...**

Athrun Zala was on his way to the baseball field for practice. Suddenly, something caught his attention. There was a large group of students gathered at the tennis court.

"Hmm, Kira must be playing. Maybe I should go and take a look. This could be interesting," Athrun thought as made his way to the crowd.

"Man! She's hot!" he heard a boy say.

"I want to ask her out!" said another.

"I hope she doesn't have a boyfriend yet."

"She's really pretty. I wish I look like her."

"She's the female version of Kira!"

"If only I can play as well as her..."

Everyone was talking about this girl. Athrun got really curious. Who could this girl be that she got all the attention of the boys and girls? Though Athrun had no interest in such stuff, his curiosity got the better of him and moved closer to the court to have a better look.

The girl had porcelain skin and her body was well toned. Her blonde hair was tied up into a ponytail and her bangs were pinned up with a few golden strands hanging loose. Her fierce amber eyes showed her determination and strength.

"That girl looks familiar..." Athrun thought. He had seen her before. Then, it hit him. He recognised her. She was the girl he met yesterday and caused quite a stir. She wasn't quite like the other girls who would come after him.

As he continued to watch her, he realised she was really good. Her strokes were of power and precision. There was also something else about her. She moved with such grace, almost as if she was dancing. She wasn't even breaking a sweat. He looked at her opponent. Rika was her name if he was not wrong. She was panting and beads of sweat were eminent on her face. From what he heard, Rika was the best female player in the club, and here she was, having a hard time with this feisty blonde.

The match was soon over and Rika was beaten hands down. "She could probably give Kira a fight for his life," Athrun thought. Suddenly he saw the blonde running to the arms of a boy. That boy was Kira, his friend. He found himself holding his breath. What was going on with him? What was this new feeling he had? He sure wasn't acting himself. Snapping out from his thoughts, he headed back to the field for practice.

**To be continued...**

Anyone read ultra maniac? That's where I got the idea of Kira's, Cagalli's and Athrun's clubs! It's not boring is it? I want to add in more spice but that will probably come in later chapters. Please review! Reviews are greatly appreciated!


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks again for your reviews! Please continue to review! I think this is the best chapter so far! I suddenly had free time and most probably I won't be busy anymore! Hurray! I spent the whole day doing this! Hope you like it!

Dedications in alphabetical order: .CriMsonxLadY., Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, Dhevz, Jodeist, KazumiSakura, mokonamodoki93, sakurayamato1, trulyanimelover06.

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed

Chapter 3

Athrun Zala fell asleep under the thick green canopy of the giant oak tree. That was the first time he dreamt of Cagalli Hibiki.

In his dream, it was very bright. But the light seemed to be radiating from Cagalli. She was glowing as if she was the sun itself. She giggled as she ran away from Athrun. She would frequently turn her head back to smile at him, gesturing for him to follow her. And he did, he chased after her. But no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't catch up. Soon, she was out of his sight.

Athrun now found himself alone in the darkness. When Cagalli left, she seemed to have brought the sun along with her. He tried to call her, he shouted her name, but no one appeared. Suddenly, he heard someone else call her name. That someone had a sweet and gentle voice.

"Cagalli dear, please do be careful! Kira will be angry with me if I let you get hurt."

"Don't worry Lacus! I do this all the time! I'm nearly there; this little bird will be home soon."

"Alright then."

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"

"Cagalli!"

All of a sudden, Athrun felt something soft and warm land on him and he woke up. He opened his eyes.

Emerald meets amber.

It was a while before anyone of them responded. They just stared into each others eyes. Suddenly, the silence was broken with an ear piercing scream.

"Ahh! Get off me!" Cagalli screamed. Her face was flushed.

"What? But you're the one on top of me!" Athrun yelled back.

Cagalli realising that he was right, quickly stood up.

"B...but you... You touched me! You're a pervert!" Cagalli accused.

"You're the one who fell on me! I should be the one to complain that you touched me!" Athrun shot back.

"Heck and why would I... Oh my goodness! You! Y...you were down there... A...and I was up there..." Cagalli said as she looked up and down. "Ahhh!"

Cagalli turned into a deeper shade of red as she clamped her legs shut and put her hands in front. She pulled her skirt down, as if trying to cover her modesty.

"Oh please, I didn't see anything. Even if I did, there is nothing much to look at." Athrun coolly replied.

"Why you!" Cagalli was really angry. She swore she had never been so mad at a particular person before.

"Cagalli! Oh my gosh! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Lacus came running in.

Cagalli jumped in front of Lacus stretching her hand out as if protecting her from a monster.

"Lacus don't come closer to this creep! He's a pervert! You have to watch out!"

"So this is the thanks I get after saving your life. You're really are ungrateful aren't you?"

"Firstly, my life wasn't in jeopardy. Secondly, the only thing I need saving from, is from a freak like you!"

With that, Cagalli stomped off. She was really angry with him. She had never met anyone so detestable. She had to get away from him before she could do something drastic, like killing him.

"Sorry Athrun," Lacus said before she ran to catch up with the furious blonde.

Watching the two figures retreat, Athrun realised that his face was red too. He was starting to get interested in that girl. He even dreamt about her. She was different from the other girls. Sure she was beautiful and good at tennis. Girls and boys both adore her. But she was also hot tempered and she had a pure heart; she actually took the trouble and the risk to return a little bird back up to its nest. Thinking about that peculiar blonde, Athrun Zala smiled.

"Wow, has my dear old friend officially lost it? Or am I seeing things? The ice prince is actually smiling?"

"Kira..."

"How are you Athrun? You know it's really great to see you smile again. It's been a long time..."

"Yea, I guess it has..." Athrun said to the brunette.

**... ... ...**

It was now another life skills lesson with Mwu La Fllaga. The eccentric teacher brought two giant boxes to class that day. Cagalli glared at the bluenette. It seemed that Athrun had reached class before she did and sat at his usual corner reading his book. She decided to ignore him as she sat down. He had ruined her day enough and she's not going to let him get to her anymore.

"Sir, what's in there?" a boy asked pointing to the boxes.

"You'll find out in just a minute. Be patient. Now class, you are going to work in pairs for this assignment. Your partners are no other than the people sitting next to you."

"What?" Cagalli exclaimed, glaring at the bluenette next to her. "But..."

"No buts Miss Hibiki, this is final! Now where was I, right..." Mwu opened the box and started handing out a baby doll to each pair.

The whole class erupted into an uproar.

"What? We have to babysit?"

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"I want to name our baby Daisy!"

"Eww! You mean like the duck?"

"No! Like the flower!"

"In the first place, our baby is a boy! So we should call him Trevor!"

"But I'm too young to be a father!"

"This is not real, moron!"

Everyone had something to say. Everyone except the pair at the back. They were just too shocked to say anything. They just stared at the doll in front of them.

Banging his fist on the table, Mwu shouted, "Quiet everyone! Geez, you kids are worst than the monkeys at the zoo. He then massaged his forehead. "I'm surely not going to live past forty," Mwu sighed.

"Alright kids, these are the rules. One, no changing of partners. Two, no throwing away, losing or damaging these dolls or whatever it is you children do. Three, take care of these dolls like your own. Your grades depend on them. They are like real life babies. Meaning they cry, poop, and need to be fed. Fourthly, you can get a bag of baby supplies from the box here. If you run out, you can get some from the office. Lastly, I don't really care what you name the babies or what gender they are; just bring them back in one piece."

"Or try to at least," Mwu muttered this part.

"Any questions?" he asked.

"How long do we have to take care of them?" a girl asked.

"Until I decide and say so. Now class dismissed!" Mwu announced.

Every pair took a bag each and left the class with their babies, leaving Athrun and Cagalli behind. They continued to stare at the baby in front until Cagalli broke the silence.

"Ok Zala, I don't want to fail this class no matter how ridiculous it is and I'm sure neither do you. So we will take turns and take care of this err, _baby_ (Cagalli wanted to say monster). Right, so we do the exchange every day after school ok?"

"Fine by me."

Suddenly, the cries of the baby filled the classroom and both Cagalli and Athrun jumped up and panicked.

"Great! So Zala you're starting first!" Cagalli yelled as she rushed out of the classroom.

Cagalli was not really fond of children, especially babies. She would term them as horrid little monsters. The truth is not that she dislikes them, but more of afraid of them. Yes, the almighty Cagalli Hibiki has one fear, and that was babies. She does not know how to handle them and would panic when one cries.

Athrun Zala stared at the wailing baby on the table. His partner, Cagalli Hibiki, had just ran off and left him to fend for himself. This was the first time he had to do something like this and he was really glad that it was just a doll and not a real breathing baby. He sighed as he picked up the crying baby and the bag of supplies and walked out of the classroom. Today was going to be a long day.

**To be continued…**

Ok, I got this baby idea from the suite life of zack and cody. Anyone watched it? Yes I seemed to be taking ideas from everywhere. Sorry but I'm not that creative! I can only think of so much! Do you think my chapters are too short? Should I make it longer? It'll be harder though because I'm not sure how to prolong it without touching on my next idea for the next chapter.

REVIEWS ARE REALLY APRICIATED! PLEASE REVIEW! THANK YOU!


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you so much for reviewing! You made be the happiest girl on earth! Please continue to review! Ok this is the longest chapter so far so of course it took me a longer time. I hope you like it!

Dedications in alphabetical order: .CriMsonxLadY., Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, Dhevz, hellopanda23, Jodeist, KazumiSakura, mokonamodoki93, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, trulyanimelover06.

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed

Chapter 4

"Ok, Alex needs to be fed three times a day. Since he's only a mechanical baby, he doesn't need constant feeding," Athrun told Cagalli as he handed the baby to her.

"Hold on a second! His name is Will!" Cagalli said.

"No. His name is Alex." Athrun calmly corrected.

"Who the hell named him Alex?" Cagalli was getting agitated.

"I did."

"WHAT? WHY DO YOU GET TO CHOOSE THE NAME?"

"Because I took care of him first."

"SO? I AM TAKING CARE OF HIM NOW!"

"His name is Alex."

"NO! WILL!"

"Alex."

"WILL!"

"Alex."

"WILL!"

"What's that smell?" Athrun sniffed.

"Eww! I think Will just pooped!" Cagalli said as she shoved the baby to Athrun.

"Why did you give him to me? I did my part already. Now do yours." Athrun shoved back the baby to Cagalli's arms.

"But I don't know how to change nappies! You have experience, you already did it, and so you do it!"

"Fine, I'll do it just this once. Watch carefully. You have to do this later by yourself at home."

Athrun stood behind a desk in one of the classrooms, the baby on the table, and Cagalli peering behind him. She was going to use him as a human shield if need be. Athrun looked like one of those surgeons ready to operate.

He gave a gentle tug on the tabs on the diaper to open it.

"Eww! Gross! Poop!" Cagalli said.

"Well what did you expect? Chocolate?" Athrun replied.

Cagalli rolled her eyes at his sarcasm.

Stretching his hands out, Athrun asked, "Please pass me the wet wipes."

Cagalli reached down for the bad and dug out a packet of wet wipes and handed it obediently to Athrun.

"Powder please."

Once again, Cagalli reached for the powder bottle and handed it to Athrun.

Athrun was like a pro. In no time, he finished changing the baby. He didn't even break a sweat!

"Wow you're amazing!" Cagalli complimented Athrun.

"That's because you're lousy," he replied. "You can call me if you need help with Alex."

With that, Athrun left the class.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, HIS NAME IS WILL! AND DON'T EXPECT MY CALL BECAUSE I WON'T NEED TO CALL YOU! I CAN PERFECTLY TAKE CARE OF WILL MYSELF!" Cagalli shouted after him. "And they call him the ice prince? The world's most annoying jerk will suit him better!" Cagalli said aloud to herself.

Just then Dearka whistled. "Looks like our little sun has melted a part of the ice prince!"

"You mean more like blasted a part away! If you ask me she explodes most of the time!" Yzac snickered.

"Well nobody asked you Yzac, so zip it!" Shiho said.

"Woman, I wasn't even talking to you!" Yzac retorted.

"Ok you two, take your lovers' quarrel outside," Dearka interrupted.

"WE ARE NOT LOVERS!" Yzac and Shiho shouted at the same time.

"Ok chill man! I was just joking!" Dearka gulped. The two looked murderously angry at him. "So Cag, what did you do to him? Cast a spell on him? As far as I've heard, he doesn't talk much, yet alone offer his help to anyone. And here you are, managing to get into a heated discussion with him!"

"Argument would be a better... OUCH! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM WOMAN?" Everyone turned to see Shiho smacking Yzac on the head.

"You are!" she replied.

**... ... ...**

Cagalli Hibiki just reached home after a long day. As she placed her keys on the side table by the stairs, she thought, "Phew! Good thing Kira's here, he can help me out with Will."

Just then, her phone vibrated. She received a message. It said:

_Hey Cagalli! I won't be home tonight. You'll be alright by yourself won't you? I have to run an errand, I'll be back tomorrow. Take care and try not to get into trouble. Also, try not to mess up the house; otherwise I'll have a hard time cleaning afterwards._

_By the way, dinner is in the microwave (just look for one of the metal boxes on the counter with a plate inside). Press '2' to heat up the food and wait till you hear the beeping sound. Then, press the largest button (it's rectangle on the bottom right hand corner of the 'box') to open the microwave door._

_Don't forget to wear gloves when you take out the food, you might hurt yourself._

_Ok, that's all! Love you! See you tomorrow!_

Cagalli rolled her eyes at the message and smiled. Her brother knew her best. No one except those living with Cagalli knew that she was a disaster when it comes to cooking and cleaning. Sure she has good grades (one of the top in school competing with Zala), and sure she's very good at sports (the best female tennis player in school). But when it came to domestic affairs, Cagalli's a walking time bomb. It was only a matter of time before she would blow up the house and make a mess. She couldn't even identify a microwave yet alone use it.

**... ... ...**

Athrun Zala was dreaming again. In his dream, he was six years old.

_He was sitting on the sand by the playground. He brought his knees to his chest as he wrapped his arms around his legs. Silver tears dropped down from his strikingly beautiful emerald green eyes. He was watching children his age running about, with their mothers tailing behind._

_The children were giggling as they ran about. They were so carefree, so innocent. They have yet to face the horrors of this world. Apart from worried faces, their mothers who were chasing after them, all had joy in their eyes. For a moment, they seemed to have forgotten the harsh reality of this world._

_Athrun looked away. It was too painful to watching, knowing that he could never be like them, never anymore._

_Just then, he felt someone grip the collar of his shirt. Before he knew it, he was thrown onto the ground._

"_What do we have here? A little cry-baby? What's the matter? Missing your mommy? What a pathetic loser! Hahaha!"_

_Athrun looked up to see three boys. The one who was taunting him had purple hair while the other two were twice his size. Those three were the typical playground bullies who went around terrorising other kids who were younger than them._

"_STAY AWAY FROM HIM YOU MEAN BUNCH OF BULLIES!" a girl with blonde hair shouted as she made her way to Athrun, shoving aside the other boys who were in her way._

"_Or else what Athha?" the boy with purple hair countered._

"_OR ELSE I'M GOING TO STUFF THESE WORMS DOWN YOUR DISGUSTING THROAT YUNA! NOW SCRAM!" the girl threatened as she scooped a handful of worms and pushed it to the boy's face._

"_Ahhh! This girl is crazy!" The boy with the purple hair yelled as he and the other two boys beside him ran for their lives._

"_Are you ok?" the blonde girl asked as she stretched her hand out to Athrun._

_End of dream..._

Athrun's dream was cut short. His telephone rang and he woke up midway. He glanced over the digital clock at his bedside table. It was only one in the morning. He cursed at the person who called him at that hour. That person not only waked him up in the middle of the night, but also disrupted his dream.

It was a good dream to some extend. He dreamt about his first friend. Cagalli awfully reminded him a lot of her. Shaking his head, he reasoned with himself. "No Athrun. Cagalli's not her. Her name is Athha. Besides, there are many other blondes around. It can't be her."

His phone was still ringing. He cursed at himself for not putting his phone to silent mode. Reaching for his phone on the bedside table, he answered, "Hello?"

His voice was rough and hoarse. The other party figured that he probably just woke up. "Duh! It's in the middle of the night! Of course he was sleeping!" the other party thought.

"Hello?" Athrun asked again. The other party still hasn't said a word. Athrun was getting pissed of. "Look, if this is some prank call..."

"Athrun?" the other party finally answered.

"Cagalli?" Athrun said.

"Sorry for calling you this late..." Cagalli replied.

"Cagalli, what happened? Are you ok?" Athrun was getting worried and he didn't know why. Why was he worrying about that girl?

"Well, yes sort of. Yes. No! I mean no! Of course I'm not ok! Why else would I be calling you in the middle of the night? You think I don't have better things to do than to prank call you? Hell no! I wouldn't have even called you if I wasn't this desperate!"

"What happened?"

"Will won't stop crying! Kira's not at home and I've practically done everything I can and he still won't stop crying!"

"Is he hungry? Did you feed him? Maybe he needs a change of diapers."

"WHAT PART OF I-HAVE-DONE-EVERYHING DID YOU NOT UNDERSTAND? YES I HAVE FED HIM AND YES I HAVE CHANGED HIS NAPPIES! I HAVE EVEN TRIED SINGING HIM TO SLEEP AND HE STILL WON'T STOP CYING! HE HAS BEEN AT IT FOR HOURS!"

"Alright calm down!"

"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN?"

"Just listen to me ok? I'm on my way there now. Just... just stay calm ok? See you in a while." Athrun hung up and quickly changed to a polo top and a pair of jeans. He then rushed over to Cagalli's house.

It only took a while for Athrun to reach her house.

"Oh my gosh! Thank goodness you're here! Now do something! The neighbours have been complaining!" Cagalli told Athrun as soon as he entered her house.

He could clearly hear the cries and wails of the baby from downstairs. Taking the baby into his arms, he tried to soothe the baby. He started to hum some melody. After a while, the baby stopped crying and Athrun placed it on the bed.

"You've got to be kidding me! You made it look so simple!" Cagalli whispered to Athrun, afraid that if she was too loud, she might wake the baby up.

As soon as the baby left Athrun's arms, it started crying again.

"Oh great! He's crying again! He must be defected! We better return him to Mr La Fllaga and get him fixed! At this rate, no one can get any sleep!" Cagalli said in exasperation. She was tired of this nonsense. If Athrun didn't come, she would have probably smashed the mechanical doll into pieces. She couldn't care less about her grades anymore.

Just then, the phone rang. Cagalli walked over to pick it up.

After muttering a string of apologies, she walked over to Athrun.

"It's the neighbours," she told him.

**To be continued...**

So what do you think? I hope you like it so far! Please review! Thank you!


	5. Chapter 5

Yea I totally agree! I like Alex better! Will was just the second name that popped into my head! Ok, this is chapter 5! I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reviewing! This is the longest so far! Two thousand words! Wow!

Dedications in alphabetical order: .CriMsonxLadY., Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, Dhevz, hellopanda23, Jodeist, KazumiSakura, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, patzie24, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, trulyanimelover06.

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed

Chapter 5

"_STAY AWAY FROM HIM YOU MEAN BUNCH OF BULLIES!" a girl with blonde hair shouted as she made her way to Athrun, shoving aside the other boys who were in her way._

"_Or else what Athha?" the boy with purple hair countered._

"_OR ELSE I'M GOING TO STUFF THESE WORMS DOWN YOUR DISGUSTING THROAT YUNA! NOW SCRAM!" the girl threatened as she scooped a handful of worms and pushed it to the boy's face._

"_Ahhh! This girl is crazy!" The boy with the purple hair yelled as he and the other two boys beside him ran for their lives._

"_Are you ok?" the blonde girl asked as she stretched her hand out to him._

_Athrun took it and replied, "Yes, thank you."_

_The girl smiled at him, "Your welcome! Say, do you want to play with me?" Her eyes were hopeful and Athrun couldn't bring himself to reject. Her face was also kind and warm. She somehow lifted up his spirits._

"_Yea sure!" Athrun smiled back._

_Taking his hand, the girl made a dash out of the playground._

"_Where are we going?" Athrun asked as he ran alongside the girl._

"_Away from here silly!" the girl giggled._

_The two children ran as fast as their little legs could take them and finally, they stopped in front of an ice cream parlour. The girl looked around, as if she was looking for somebody, before she pulled Athrun in._

"_Come on!" she said._

"_But I didn't bring any money..." Athrun frowned._

"_Who said you're paying? It's my treat silly!"_

"_But..."_

"_No buts! The ice cream won't wait forever! Come on!"_

_Walking to the counter, the two children were greeted by an old man._

"_Hello kids, what can I get for you today?" the old man asked._

"_One strawberry and one..." the girl looked at Athrun._

"_I'll have the same thing," Athrun said._

"_Here you go kids! Enjoy!" the old man smiled as he handed the cones to the children._

"_Thank you!" Athrun and the blonde said together._

_The girl reached into the pockets of her jumper and handed a few coins to the old man._

_The two children both left the parlour and headed for another playground._

"_Tag! You're it!" she shouted, tapping Athrun on his shoulder before sprinting away giggling._

_At first shock was seen on Athrun's face. It took a while for it to sink down. Finally realising what was happening, a wide grin was plastered on his face before he dashed off to catch the blonde._

_Shrieks of laughter were heard as the two darted around the playground. The two children, with wide smiles on their faces, hopped about like playful little imps. A victory smirk was plastered on Athrun's face as he finally caught his new found friend. It took a long time for him to catch her. Boy could she run!_

'_Time passes quickly when you're having fun.' How true that saying was. Before Athrun knew it, orange and red hues were seen across the once blue sky. It was now sunset. Soon, it was time to say goodbye to his friend._

_Suddenly, a black Rolls Royce skidded into a halt in front of them and three men in black came out of the car. On instinct, Athrun jumped in front of his friend, as if trying to protect her from the mysterious strangers that appeared._

"_It's alright. Don't worry, they won't hurt us," the blonde told him. "I guess I have to go home now."_

_Athrun merely stared at his friend. He would miss her but something was stuck in his throat, no sound could come out._

_Reaching for the red stone that clung around her neck, the blonde girl took the necklace off and hung it on Athrun._

"_This is a Haumea stone. It's a lucky charm and it's supposed to protect you. You seemed to get into trouble a lot so you probably need it more than I do," she said._

_She gave him a hug and then she walked over to the men in black. Before she got into the car, she turned around one last time and waved. "Bye! I hope to see you soon! Try not to get into trouble ok? I won't be around to save your butt all the time!" she winked at him._

_The car zoomed past him and he watched the car until it was nothing but a dot in the horizon. He watched his friend leave. He didn't even know her full name. She didn't even know his name..._

_**End of dream...**_

Athrun Zala just woke up. It was day light already. He had been dreaming about his childhood friend again. They met only once though. As he was starting to regain his vision, he was disturbed by the throbbing pain around his neck and back. He realised that he had spent the night sleeping on a couch. He looked to his left and for a moment, he thought he was still dreaming. He thought he saw his childhood friend again. She was sleeping next to him on the couch. She stirred in her sleep. Opening her eyes slowly, she turned to lock eyes with him.

"Ahhhh!" Cagalli screamed.

Shocked by her sudden reaction, Athrun jumped up and screamed as well. He had forgotten that he was holding on to the mechanical doll and when he jerked, the baby flew in the air and thudded onto the ground.

"Oh my gosh! You dropped the baby!" Cagalli yelled at Athrun.

"And whose fault is that? You suddenly shocked me by screaming!" Athrun retorted as the two teens rushed towards the baby.

"Is he spoilt?" Cagalli asked.

"At least he's not crying," Athrun replied.

"Oh my gosh! Great job Zala! You spoilt him! This is your entire fault! We are so going to fail this class!" Cagalli wailed.

"Firstly, it is your fault too. And secondly calm down! Don't worry, I can..."

"CALM DOWN? DON'T WORRY? HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO THAT?" Cagalli boomed.

Athrun sighed. "Just let me finish will you? I can fix him. Don't worry, I'm very good at mechanics. I can build and fix robots so this is a piece of cake for me. But I will need some tools. Can you get some for me?"

"Fine then! But you better fix him or you're going to be dead meat Zala!"

**... ... ...**

Cagalli was in the kitchen. She had offered to get something to eat as she left Athrun in the living room to fix the baby. He seemed to know what he was doing. She decided to heat up the food Kira left for her last night, she hasn't touched it yet.

Looking for the appliance they call a microwave, she was shocked to see two white boxes side by side. One was a toaster and the other was the microwave. But Cagalli didn't know that of course!

"Great! How would I know which one is it? Stupid Kira! I bet my life on it that he purposely bought so many of this stuff to confuse me! Oh wait, he said the microwave has a plate inside. There is no plate in here so this must be it!" Cagalli exclaimed as walked over to the microwave.

She looked closer and saw that there were so many buttons to press. Searching for '2', she smiled once she spotted it.

"Ok! Here goes!" Cagalli said to herself as she pressed the button.

She waited and waited. Nothing seemed to have happened. She pressed again and again and again. Her patience was wearing thin. She had seen her brother using it before and she knew it must light up. But nothing was happening.

"Stupid piece of junk!" she mumbled.

"You forgot to plug it in," Athrun interrupted. He was smiling at her. He was amused.

"Oh," that was all Cagalli said. She felt really stupid.

"Don't forget to use the hand muffs! You might hurt yourself," Athrun reminded her as he walked back to the living room.

After plugging in the socket and turning on the switch, Cagalli tried again. And it worked! The white box lit up and the plate inside started revolving around. Cagalli was overjoyed at her tiny accomplishment of using the microwave.

Cagalli was confident of her newly learnt 'kitchen skill' and decided to try and heat up the chicken pie in the fridge.

She then walked over to Athrun, carrying last night's dinner: spaghetti. Suddenly there was an explosion and the sprinklers in the kitchen were activated.

Both teens jumped back.

"What happened?" Athrun asked alarmed.

"How would I know?" Cagalli said as the two ran to the kitchen.

The kitchen was a mess! It was flooded due to the sprinklers and black metal bits were everywhere.

"Cagalli what happened? Oh my gosh! I heard an explosion! Are you ok?" Kira came stumbling into the house worried.

"Kira! You're back!" Cagalli smiled as she jumped into the arms of Kira.

Athrun stood there at the side, sulking at the two teens hugging each other. He didn't know why he felt this bitter. He suddenly felt angry at his friend Kira. As he clenched his fist, he unintentionally spat his words out. "So you two are together huh?"

Athrun was about to walk off when Kira stopped him. "Athrun, what are you doing here?"

"I'm just about to leave. Sorry for intruding on you two." Athrun muttered not looking at Kira or Cagalli in the eye.

"Hold on a second, wait! You think we're a couple?" Kira asked. Suddenly the twins broke into fits of laughter.

"What's so funny?" Athrun questioned them.

"Hahaha! Pft!" Kira laughed clutching his stomach. "W...we're not a...a couple!"

"We're TWINS!" Cagalli continued as she leaned on the wall for support. She was laughing so hard. "And for your information, I am the OLDER one! Hahaha!"

Athrun stared at the twins dumbfounded. "You never told me you had a twin!" he told Kira.

"Long story friend. Long story. I'll tell you another time." Kira said as he rubbed a tear off his eye. "So sis, what did you do this time?"

"Nothing I swear! I only did the exact same thing you told me! I heated some chicken pies and..."

"Let me guess, you did not remove the aluminium foil?" Kira knew her best.

"What? You didn't tell me that!" Cagalli pouted.

"Sigh, what am I going to do with you sis?"

**... ... ...**

It was now time for school and the three teens walked there together. Athrun had borrowed Kira's uniform as he had no time to go back home and change.

When Kira found out that Athrun had spent the night alone with Cagalli, he went ballistic. He went into his over-protective-brother mode and lectured the two after he tried to kill Athrun with a phone directory. It was only after Cagalli explained that nothing happened and that they were going to be late for school if he continued acting this way that Kira went back to normal. Even so, he sent death glares to Athrun the whole walk to school.

Life skill class was the first lesson for both Athrun and Cagalli. Kira parted his sister reluctantly. Even though Athrun was his friend and knew that he's not the type to harm his sister, Kira still could not relax.

"Good morning kids! How's your project coming along? Did you have much trouble?" Mwu asked the class. The whole class looked like zombies. They were lethargic and had large black rings around their eyes. Apparently, they all had not had much sleep in the last two nights.

"Sir just fail me! I don't care anymore!" a boy whined.

"Me too! This horrid little monster cried the whole night! I lost my precious beauty sleep thanks to it! Now look at this hideous eye bags! What a nightmare!" another girl cried.

"Yes sir! Please stop torturing us! We'll be good and we'll listen to you from now onwards! Please spare us!"

"Yes! We're sorry!"

The whole class erupted into apologies and pleas. They could not take it anymore. The project was just too torturous.

"Alright kiddos." The moment Mwu spoke, the whole class suddenly became silent. They had become good students and listened to the teacher overnight. "I suppose I can cut you kids some slack. You can leave the dolls here _for now_. If you become naughty, I will assign you back the project."

The whole class went into applause. They were overjoyed.

"Oh thank you Mr La Fllaga!"

"Alleluia!"

"We love you!"

"You're our saviour!"

Everyone just praised the teacher. They were just so grateful that they were able to escape that horrible nightmare.

"Kids these days..." Mwu sighed.

**To be continued...**

So what do you think? This chapter just like a bit of the last one got into Athrun's past a little bit. I'm thinking of having a female villain. As you know Yuna is the male villain. What do you think? Do you prefer Meer or Meyrin to be the villain? I don't like both of them.


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for reviewing! Ok, I think I shall use both! But Meer will come in first. Meyrin will come in later. Thanks! Sorry I took longer than usual. I kept on rewriting some parts. Also sorry to those who are expecting more of the baby project but there won't be anymore unless I think of a better idea for that part.

Dedications in alphabetical order: .CriMsonxLadY., Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, Dhevz, hellopanda23, Jodeist, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, patzie24, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06.

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed

Chapter 6

Cagalli Hibiki sighed as she walked towards her locker. Athrun has been acting weirdly. She couldn't understand his odd behaviour. Firstly he had been cold towards her right after Mr La Fllaga spared them from the agony of the baby project. He reverted back to his usual ice-prince-mode. She felt a little depressed then. She didn't like him ignoring her. Then something happened yesterday.

_Flashback..._

"_Let go of me Yuna!" Cagalli snapped._

"_Aww don't be like this darling..." a boy with wavy lavender hair tied up in a low ponytail said, leaning closer to Cagalli._

_Suddenly, she saw his dark silky midnight blue hair flash across her face. In less than a second, Yuna flew to the ground._

"_She said let go. Don't you understand English?" Athrun gritted through his teeth. He looked murderously angry._

_Taking her hand, Athrun took off with Cagalli. They left Yuna on the floor baffled. Cagalli wanted to yell at Athrun and say that he didn't have to butt in as she could take care of herself. But something about his expression made her change her mind and she decided to keep mum._

_Athrun noticed the silent blonde. She usually had something to say. Moreover, she obediently followed him and allowed him to drag her out. Worried, he turned to her and asked, "Are you ok? Did he do anything to you?"_

_Cagalli looked back at him confused. "No. Like I would let him! Why?"_

"_N...nothing," Athrun replied._

_The two continued walking until Cagalli realised she was outside her house._

"_Thanks for sending me home Athrun. I'll see you tomorrow," Cagalli said before she went in._

_Athrun merely nodded and walked off._

_End of flashback..._

Opening her locker, she sighed again. Seven fan mails/ love letters. She had just cleared her locker this morning and yet they found their way into her locker again. She had been receiving these letters since the first day she came to school. Boys and girls alike would send her these letters. She couldn't bear to throw away them away even though she considered them as junk and found them annoying. How could she when her fellow students took the time and trouble to write to her? So she just left the whole lot of letters in a corner in her room and would read them in her free time.

The day was now over and all Cagalli had to do was to go to the chiller room and help Miss Ramius collect a few items. Then she was free to go home. She stuffed her bag and phone inside the locker, figuring that she would need both hands to carry Miss Ramius' things.

**... ... ...**

Meer Campbell was the current manager of the baseball club at ArcAngel Academy. Because of the way she acts and dresses, many would term her as 'slutty'. But there were also quite a large number of boys who would swoon over her and worship her like a goddess.

She got almost everything she wanted, everything except one boy. And that was the ice prince, Athrun Zala. No matter what she did, she just could not get his attention. When she tried the more direct approach of asking him out, he rejected her straight in the face.

_Flashback..._

_The baseball club had just finished one of their practices. "Here you go Athrun," Meer winked as she handed a bottle of water to Athrun._

_Athrun barely looked at her. He ignored her and immediately turned away, getting another bottle of water from the bench._

_Meer didn't give up. She took his evasiveness as a sign of him playing hard to get. Trying one more time, she stood in front of him, completely blocking his way so that he could not escape. "Are you free this Saturday? Let's go out on a date," She smiled seductively as she closed the gap between them, drawing random circles on Athrun's chest._

_Sweeping her fingers off, Athrun replied coldly, "Firstly, I don't like people touching me. Secondly, I am not free and never will be. Now get out of my way."_

"_Come on now sweetie pie, you don't have to be shy..." Meer held her ground. She was confident that he would go out with her. No boy could resist her charms._

"_Did I not make myself clear? I said I do not want to go out with you, not now and not ever. Get lost, you are annoying me," Athrun said icily as he pushed her aside and walked off. _

_End of flashback..._

That of course humiliated Meer. She was beyond furious and embarrassed. She found it hard to accept. Many boys would want to be her boyfriend, but not Athrun. She had the mentality that if she can't get him, no one else can. That was why Meer Campbell very much loathed Cagalli Hibiki.

Cagalli was by far the only girl able to capture the attention of the ice prince. To add fuel to Meer's hatred for the new student, Meer's popularity plunged drastically ever since the arrival of Cagalli.

Cagalli's popularity skyrocketed in just a few days and she had become one of the most popular students in the school. She was idolised by both the male and female students. She was not only beautiful, but talented at well. She was good in her studies and she was now the star player in the tennis club.

Meer could never be compared to Cagalli. Cagalli had the looks and the talents. Meer only had the looks if you count the fact that her looks were 'borrowed'.

Her blood boiled every time she would see Cagalli with Athrun. She swore to herself that she was going to make the blonde pay dearly for it.

That opportunity arose when she caught sight of the blonde walking along the corridor alone. "Perfect!" Meer thought. She decided to follow Cagalli. She trailed her across the school and into the chiller room. The chiller room was a gigantic fridge, though food was not stored inside.

"This will teach you a lesson!" Meer smirked as she closed the door, trapping Cagalli inside. Apparently, the chiller room door could only be opened from the outside.

**... ... ...**

Cagalli Hibiki pulled her knees closer to her chest as she wrapped her arms around her legs. She buried her head on her knees, trying to keep warm. She was freezing. She was stuck inside the chiller room for almost an hour now. She had left her phone inside her locker, there was no way she could call for help. She felt her eyelids getting heavy; she was very sleepy.

"Cagalli? My goodness! What are you doing here?"

Cagalli heard the familiar voice and she looked up.

"A...Ath...r...run?" Cagalli stuttered. Her voice was hoarse and it was difficult for her to speak. She was just too cold.

"How long have you been here? You're freezing!" Athrun ran to her. Cagalli's lips were pale and she was shivering so badly. Athrun felt a sharp pang in his chest. He did not like seeing her in that state.

"Bang!" The two looked towards the door to see it shut. This time, it was a janitor who closed the door. It was late and most of the students had gone home. He thought that one of them just forgot to close the door.

"Damn it! No!" Athrun cursed as he ran for the door and banged it with his fist. "Hey! We're still in here! Open up!" But it was no use; he shouts couldn't go through the thick steel door.

Athrun walked back to the shivering blonde. He took out his phone and sighed, "No battery. What good timing."

Taking off his V-neck pullover, Athrun draped it across Cagalli's shoulders. She accepted it gratefully and wrapped it closer to her body. She was still very cold. The extra layer of cloth did keep her warmer but it was not enough. Suddenly, she felt strong and warm arms wrapping her body. She found herself being pulled into a tight embrace and she immediately turned red.

"A...Ath...runnn w...hat are y...you d...d...doing? L...let me g...goo!" she tried to speak as she struggled against Athrun's hold over her.

"Sharing my heat," Athrun replied, still not letting go of her.

Cagalli gave up arguing back, she was just too cold and too tired. Knowing she would regret it later, she snuggled closer to Athrun, her comfort now was more important. She didn't notice that Athrun was blushing too.

**To be continued...**

Sorry if you're a bit disappointed with this chapter! This one is shorter but I'll try to make it up next chapter! Athrun is a bit OOC with Meer right? But he has to be this way since he's the ice prince. If there is any way I can improve my story please point it out! I know I may have some typo or grammatical errors but I'll try my best to minimise them. Thanks! Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for reviewing! I hope you like this chapter! And to those who are wondering why Athrun was in the chiller room in the first place, it was because he also wanted to collect something. And of course they won't die! This is not a tragedy! =)

Dedications in alphabetical order: .CriMsonxLadY., Alice, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, Dhevz, hellopanda23, Jodeist, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, patzie24, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06.

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.

Chapter 7

_**Flashback...**_

"_Are you sure nothing happened?" Kira questioned Cagalli as he eyed Athrun._

"_Of course nothing happened! It's not as if we can do anything in that kind of situation!" Cagalli replied rolling her eyes at her over-protective brother._

_Lacus gasped and Athrun turned into a bright crimson when they heard her say._

"_But I saw you two hugging with my own eyes!" Kira insisted. "How can I..."_

_Cagalli cut him off. "Haven't you heard of sharing the heat? Or would you rather us turn into popsicles?"_

"_But..."_

"_But what? Geez Kira! You've been watching way too many dramas! Don't deny it! You're imagination is getting wilder!" Cagalli yelled in exasperation. "Besides, if something did happen, which of course did not, do you think Athrun will be standing here in one piece? Huh?"_

_**End of flashback...**_

Cagalli walked home alone from school. Kira had gone home first because Cagalli needed to stay back to finish up some work.

Cagalli thought about what had happened a few days ago. She had gotten trapped inside the chiller room and not long after, Athrun got trapped in with her. She thought about being buried in Athrun's strong arms. She felt so warm and so fuzzy all over. She turned into a deep scarlet at the thought of that.

It was Kira who finally found them cuddling and rescued them. You can call it twin connection. Somehow he knew that Cagalli was in danger, though it took him quite a while to find her. However when he saw them huddled up together, he went berserk and lashed out on Athrun.

It was indeed a beautiful day. She heard the leaves of the towering trees rustle as she felt the late afternoon breeze touch her cheek. She breathed in the cool fresh air as she walked along the concrete pavement.

Suddenly, she felt a body colliding into hers. Cagalli lost her balance and fell into a nearby drain. It was a dry and shallow drain. But still, blood streaked down Cagalli's bare legs.

"Ouch! It hurts! Ow..." Cagalli cried silently in pain. She looked up to see who collided into her.

"Watch where you're going bitch!" the person shouted.

Cagalli stared in surprise at the girl with pink hair. She thought to herself, "What? Lacus? What's wrong with her? Did she just call me a bitch? Since when was she so rude? Was it all a facade?" Cagalli couldn't speak, she didn't know what to say, she was just too stunned.

"A...A...Athrun?" Cagalli heard the pink haired girl stutter his name.

"Get lost Meer if you're not going to help her," Athrun said icily as he walked over to Cagalli. His face was as cold as usual. But he was disgusted, annoyed and angry at the pink haired girl. His heart wrenched when he saw the injured blonde.

Cagalli was now even more confused. She thought, "Did he just call her Meer?" She looked over towards the pink haired girl who stomped off in a huff.

Meer was furious and humiliated. "You'll pay for this Hibiki, if it's the last thing I do! If I can't have Athrun, no one can!" she said in her mind.

"Are you ok?" Athrun's expression softened as he asked Cagalli. He held his hand out and Cagalli took it. She winced in pain as Athrun pulled her up. Athrun saw this. "Get on," Athrun said gently as he bent down.

"What? Don't be ridiculous! I can walk perfectly myself!" Cagalli insisted. But Athrun didn't take no for an answer. Before Cagalli knew it, she was up in the air with Athrun holding her legs. "Hey! Put me down!" Cagalli protested as she blushed. But Athrun just kept on walking. Giving in, Cagalli wrapped her arms on Athrun's neck and rested her head on his back.

Athrun's heart pounded like crazy at Cagalli's actions. Hefelt his face burn. But he was happy at the same time. He wished that she would not let go. Suddenly, he heard her mumble, "You're unbelievable."

**... ... ...**

"Ouch! Be gentle!" Cagalli said as wacked Kira on the head.

"Ouch! You should be nicer to me you know. I'm helping you here. And it'll be a lot less painful if you stop moving," Kira said as he was treating her wound. Kira was really surprised when he saw Cagalli on Athrun's back. He wanted to scream at Athrun until he saw Cagalli's bleeding leg. Kira immediately went into a worry and fretted over Cagalli instead.

Athrun watched the exchange between the twins. They were quite entertaining. He knew Kira cared about his sister a lot. Athrun sat on the other couch beside the twins. He had explained to Cagalli earlier on about Meer, the Lacus-copy-cat, and Cagalli was immediately disgusted by her.

Athrun's mind drifted off. He was thinking about his feelings towards Cagalli. He didn't want to fall in love with her. He was waiting for someone else...

_**Flashback...**_

_Reaching for the red stone that clung around her neck, the blonde girl took the necklace off and hung it on Athrun._

"_This is a Haumea stone. It's a lucky charm and it's supposed to protect you. You seemed to get into trouble a lot so you probably need it more than I do," she said._

_She gave him a hug and then she walked over to the men in black. Before she got into the car, she turned around one last time and waved. "Bye! I hope to see you soon! Try not to get into trouble ok? I won't be around to save your butt all the time!" she winked at him._

_**End of flashback...**_

He still wanted to wait for the other blonde, the one who gave him the Haumea necklace that now hung on his neck hidden by his uniform. But he couldn't ignore his feelings towards Cagalli. He didn't want to admit it but for someone who likes to be by himself, he was very happy to be with Cagalli. There is something about her that warms up his heart. In fact, she reminded him so much of the other blonde.

He wondered if he should just give up his childhood friend. It was probably time to move on. The other blonde probably would have forgotten about him anyway.

He sighed as he massaged his forehead. Cagalli was giving him a headache. She was making him confused. Athrun had a thousand and one feelings about Cagalli. He felt unhappy and angry every time Cagalli was interacting with other boys. Athrun reckoned it was jealousy but he did not want to admit it. He felt annoyed and irritated at the other boys who would check Cagalli out and ogle at her. He hated those who tried to hurt her. He would hurt inside as well every time Cagalli injured herself. However, every time he saw that radiant smile of hers, he could not help but to feel happy too.

**... ... ...**

It was now almost time for the first lesson of the day, Mathematics. Mathematics was also one of the other lessons he shared with Cagalli. Athrun smiled at the thought of the feisty blonde but that smile immediately turned into a frown when he thought about her injury yesterday.

Athrun snapped out of his thoughts when that blonde came into class and slammed an envelope on his table. He raised an eye brow at Cagalli.

"Look, I don't like to owe favours ok?" she said. "It's for the time you helped me deal with Yuna when he harassed me and for the time you lent me your jacket in the chiller room even though you needed it too (she deliberately missed out the hugging part). Also, it's for helping me yesterday when I fell down the drain."

"You counted the number of times I helped you?" Athrun looked amused.

"I told you, I don't like to owe favours ok? Just accept it, it'll make me feel better," Cagalli replied as she shoved the envelope into Athrun's hands. She then sat down beside him (she was forced to sit next to him for all the lessons).

Miss Talia Gladys entered the class and began the lesson.

"Carnival tickets?" Athrun asked Cagalli as he opened the envelope to take a look at what Cagalli had given him. It was a pair of carnival tickets.

"Yea, you can take anyone you like," Cagalli whispered back. The class had started and Miss Gladys had made it clear in the first lesson that she hated disruptions, meaning no talking during her lessons.

"Mr Zala? Miss Hibiki? Do you two have a problem?" Talia asked in a warning tone.

"No Miss Gladys," the two said in unison.

After a while, Athrun tried to return the tickets. "I can't accept it. It's too much," he said.

"Yes you can! Just accept it already!" Cagalli replied in a hushed whisper.

"No, I will feel bad. Please Cagalli just take it back. You can go with Kira."

"Have you thought about how I will feel then? I told you I hate owing favours!"

"You can pay me back some other ways..."

"And when will that be? When I'm old and grey?" Cagalli retorted which made Athrun chuckle inside.

"Take it back," Athrun pleaded.

"No."

"I have no one to go with; the other ticket will be a waste."

"Ask Kira."

"What? Two guys going for a carnival together? People will think we're gay!"

"What era are you in? What makes you think people will say that?"

"Fine, you go with me then." Athrun said.

"What?" Cagalli replied.

"Or else take it back."

"Alright fine! I'll go with you!"

"DETENTION MR ZALA AND MISS HIBIKI!" Miss Gladys barked.

**... ... ...**

Athrun was in deep thoughts. "What has gotten into me? Why did I ask her to go to the carnival with me?" Athrun wondered.

"This is your fault Zala!" Cagalli wailed. She and Athrun were in detention now. They were caught talking in Miss Gladys's class.

Cagalli's wails broke Athrun's thoughts. He turned to the blonde and realised that she was talking to him. He stared at her blankly.

"I have never gotten detention until I met you," Cagalli continued.

"This is my first time too Cagalli," Athrun said.

The two teens were now in one of the deserted blocks in school. Their detention was to clear up the area. The two entered the room and saw that it was an abandoned music room. Scores were stacked all around and an antique cherry wood baby grand piano stood forlornly in the middle. The room wasn't as dusty as they had expected. It was cleaned not too long ago.

Cagalli walked over and trailed the tip of her long slender fingers along the ivory keyboard. "What a waste..." she mumbled to herself.

Athrun with his sharp senses heard what Cagalli said. "Do you play?" he asked her.

Cagalli looked up to meet his emerald green eyes. She looked puzzled. It was a while before she answered. Casting her gaze back down to the ivory keys, she replied, "A little." She then quickly added, "But it's been a long time since I last played."

Athrun nodded. He then proceeded to his next question. "Can you play me something?"

"I told you I haven't played in a long time," Cagalli replied.

But Athrun was insistent. He really wanted to hear her play. "Please?" Athrun pleaded with a look that could melt the North Pole.

Cagalli was taken aback. She could not resist his charms. She sighed in defeat before she played a few notes on the piano; she wanted to test if it was in tune. "It sounds more or less in tune..." she said. "I suppose it can't hurt. But you better not laugh at me! If you do I'll kill you!" She showed a fist to Athrun.

Athrun smiled, "Don't worry, I won't laugh."

Cagalli stared at Athrun in surprise.

"What's wrong?" Athrun asked her.

"This is the first time I've seen you smile," she said. "You should do it more often. It looks better on you."

Her comment made Athrun blush like a little boy. He murmured back, "Thank you."

Cagalli sighed again. She sat down on the bench with the poise of a well-bred lady. Cagalli started by playing a few experimental notes. It wasn't long before she let her fingers run over the keys and they sought out a familiar tune, a somewhat warm and playful melody.

The abandoned music room that was once in a state of melancholy was now filled with life and joy. Athrun could not help but to be amazed. His whole mood was lifted up the moment he heard her play. She was good. Her eyes were burning with passion as her fingers gracefully danced along the keys.

The song soon came to an end. Cagalli's eyes met Athrun's once more.

"You're too modest Cagalli," Athrun said. "You're brilliant!"

"Thank you," Cagalli replied. "What about you? Do you play as well?"

"Not the piano," Athrun told her. "I play the violin."

"Really? I would like to hear you play then!" Cagalli smiled at him.

"If you really want to..." Athrun replied.

"Of course I want to! You heard me play! It's only fair!"

"Alright then, I'll play for you another time," Athrun said in defeat. He smiled at the blonde once more. He now had a reason to smile again, he decided.

**To be continued...**

Read on! I uploaded two chapters together this time! Next up, the carnival!


	8. Chapter 8

Ok! I said I uploaded two chapters together so here's the second one! Those who went straight to reading this chapter, you missed out chapter seven. Yup so that's all! Enjoy!

Dedications in alphabetical order: .CriMsonxLadY., Alice, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, Dhevz, hellopanda23, Jodeist, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, patzie24, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06.

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.

Chapter 8

"Athrun, take care of Cagalli and make sure you bring her home straight after dinner ok? No monkey business!" Kira warned his friend.

Cagalli, who was walking down the stairs towards the front door, rolled her eyes. Her brother was treating her like a child. Cagalli wore a simple white tank top and a pair of grey skinny jeans. She looked really hot.

"Don't worry Kira, I will." Athrun assured the paranoid brunette. Athrun was wearing a white polo shirt and a pair of denim jeans. He looked suave as well.

"Good, I expect to see you home by seven," Kira said to his sister.

"What?" Cagalli exclaimed. That was hardly enough time for her to buy her food yet alone eat.

"Now now Kira, remembered what we talked about just now?" Lacus cut in.

"Fine! Eight! Be home by eight Cagalli," Kira said.

"Kira..." Lacus warned. She suddenly had a dark aura surrounding her.

"Nine alright nine!" Kira panicked.

"Oh for heavens sake Kira!" Lacus said exasperated.

Everyone stared at their pink haired friend as if she suddenly grew horns.

"Athrun, Cagalli, just ignore him," Lacus continued. "Bring Cagalli back home at ten ok Athrun?" she said as pushed Athrun and Cagalli out the front door. She said goodbye to them as she held on tight to Kira to prevent him from following the two.

**... ... ...**

"Where do want to go first?" Athrun asked Cagalli.

"Up there!" Cagalli said excitedly, pointing to the roller coaster that flew past them.

Athrun looked up and gulped. He wasn't particularly afraid of heights but the roller coaster didn't look particularly appealing either. He swore that he saw a few screws dropping off from the roller coaster not too long ago. The shaking metal frame of the roller coaster tracks didn't look too sturdy either.

Before he could even object, he found himself being dragged off by Cagalli. Soon Athrun was seated and strapped on the coaster. He looked over at the blonde beside him. She had a wide smile plastered on her face; she was ecstatic.

The coaster suddenly jerked forward and began to make its ascend. "Click click click click." That was the sound of the roller coaster when it slowly made its way to the top, building up its momentum so that it could go full speed down afterwards. To Athrun, the slow and agonising ten seconds felt like an eternity. From where he was seated, he couldn't tell when the coaster was about to make its descend. That uncertainty made the experience all the more nerve-wracking for him.

The coaster was now reaching the peak. It was so slow that Athrun thought it had stopped moving. Just as he was about to catch his breath, he felt the wind slapping his face. His stomach had a funny feeling and again he swore that he felt his butt leave the seat for a moment. The roller coaster was now making its descend. Athrun clung to the hand rails as if his life depended on it.

"Let's do it again! That was so fun! Right Ath... Athrun? Are you ok? You don't look so good," Cagalli said as she looked at Athrun. His face was constantly changing colours. It went from purple to blue to green and back to purple again.

It took a while before Athrun's face colour returned to usual. He couldn't really throw up as there wasn't much stuff in his stomach in the first place. Looking back at Athrun, Cagalli's face suddenly lit up, she thought of a brilliant idea.

"I know what can help you feel better!" Cagalli smiled as she dragged the poor Athrun away again.

This time, she pulled him to an ice cream stand. The two teens were greeted by an old man.

"_Hello kids, what can I get for you today?" the old man asked._

"_One strawberry and one..." Cagalli looked at Athrun._

"_I'll have the same thing," Athrun said._

"_Here you go kids! Enjoy!" the old man smiled as he handed the cones to the teens._

"_Thank you!" Athrun and the Cagalli said together._

_Cagalli reached into the pockets of her jeans and handed a few coins to the old man._

Suddenly, a wave of nostalgia hit Athrun. He felt as though he had experienced a déjà vu.

"Athrun?" Cagalli called him. "Are you ok? You look a little spaced out."

"Yea, I'm fine. Don't worry," Athrun replied.

**... ... ...**

Kira and Lacus were sitting on the coach watching television. Kira was getting all fidgety.

"What's taking them so long? We should go and check on them!" Kira panicked. He stood up only to be pulled down by Lacus to sit again.

"Don't be silly Kira! It's been barely two hours since they left! Lacus chided the paranoid brunette. "Look out the widow, the sun's going to set not for another few hours!"

"But..." Kira started.

"No buts! Just watch television now!" Lacus cut him off.

Looking at the pissed off girl, Kira obediently turned to face the television. He wasn't exactly watching. He was thinking of ways on how to deal with his certain midnight blue haired friend.

**... ... ...**

"Ooo! The haunted house!" Cagalli exclaimed as she pulled Athrun in.

Compared to the roller coaster, Athrun preferred the haunted house more.

It was pitch black inside and it was very quite. For some odd reasons, Athrun and Cagalli were the only ones inside. The atmosphere inside felt very eerie.

"Ouch! Athrun! You stepped on me!" Cagalli nearly shouted.

Athrun muttered an apology as he let Cagalli drag him.

"Ahhhh!" Cagalli screamed at Athrun's ear. This was before she let go of him and ran off.

"Cagalli!" Athrun shouted as he chased after the terrified blonde. He had no idea what had scared her for he did not see anything.

He finally caught up with her. He reached out for her shoulder and the next thing he knew, she flew into his arms. Athrun blushed like mad but luckily for him, Cagalli couldn't see his face because it was so dark. He suddenly felt a few drops of warm liquid dripping onto his shirt. The blonde was crying.

"Cagalli, what happened?" Athrun asked gently as he continued to wrap his arms around her protectively.

Though Cagalli was sobbing, she was still rather coherent. She told him that an icy cold hand grabbed her ankle and she freaked out.

Athrun was now leading the way with Cagalli still buried in his chest. The only way to get out of the haunted house was to finish the trail. Athrun took everything that came in their way, from falling bloody heads to pop-out zombies. Cagalli refused to open her eyes, she had enough and luckily for the sake of Athrun's ears, there were no more hands touching her apart from his.

After that frightening experience in the haunted house, Cagalli was still badly shaken. So Athrun thought that it was best to just walk around and not go for other rides until Cagalli recovered.

They walked until they reached the carnival games stalls. Cagalli looked up and her eyes immediately sparkled at the sight of the giant stuffed lion.

"Oh this reminds me of Leo! I missed him so much but I had to leave him at home... I couldn't bring him here..." Cagalli said sadly.

"Who's Leo?" Athrun asked.

"Oh Leo's my pet Lion," Cagalli replied matter-of-factly.

"What?"

"Oops I meant my stuffed lion! Hee hee hee!" Cagalli quickly added.

"Great job Cagalli! Pet lion? What were you thinking?" Cagalli scolded herself mentally. Cagalli looked up to see Athrun walking towards the game stall. He placed a note on the counter and took the rifle on the table.

"What are you doing?" Cagalli asked Athrun.

"Winning you another stuffed lion. You seemed to miss yours quite badly," Athrun replied.

"Hate to burst your bubble Zala, but you do know that in order to win the lion you need to shoot ten ducks in one round right? And you only have ten bullets per round, meaning you can't miss a single one," Cagalli stated.

Athrun merely chucked. A few minutes later, Cagalli was walking in the carnival smiling and hugging a giant stuffed lion nearly as big as her.

"What a fine young lad this boy is! Better hold on tight to him ok?" the stall vendor winked at Cagalli when he handed her the top prize.

Before she could correct the stall vendor, Athrun had pulled her away.

"What shall we do last?" Athrun asked Cagalli.

It was already dark. The two had enjoyed themselves tremendously and the time flew past very quickly. It was nearly time to leave.

"Hmm..." Cagalli pondered for a while. This would be the last thing they would be doing and she wanted it to be memorable. "I know! Let's ride the Ferris wheel!" she finally said.

And off they went to the Ferris wheel. The view of the city nightlife was breathtaking and beyond amazing from the top. The towering skyscrapers looked like giant Christmas trees and the night sky reflected the city area. Many bright white lights would dot up the land below just as the stars dotted the sky above.

"Boom!"

Athrun and Cagalli nearly jumped when they heard the loud noise. They looked up towards the sky; fireworks in a myriad of colours were on display.

"Wow! They're beautiful!" Cagalli exclaimed as she watched brilliant sparks of light exploding before her very eyes. The whole sky was lit up by many of these colourful and bright creations.

"Yes they are..." Athrun replied softly. He too was in awe of the marvellous display of light.

Suddenly Athrun stiffened. His heart was accelerating and pounding very hard. His pale face turned in to a brilliant shade of red. Cagalli's head was resting on his shoulders. However, Cagalli was oblivious to all these. Her full attention was given only to the fireworks.

After a while, Athrun relaxed. Actually, he was jumping with joy inside. He loved the close contact between him and Cagalli.

Their night ended with dinner at a small restaurant near the carnival. Cagalli was talking non-stop animatedly about their day. Athrun just sat there and listened to her. He enjoyed just listening to her voice and watching her. She really was beautiful.

Finally, they both swore to each other that they would never tell anyone about the roller coaster and haunted house incident.

**... ... ...**

"WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG? WHY DIDN'T YOU ANSWER MY PHONE CALLS?" Kira bellowed. His voice was so loud that Cagalli was sure that people within a mile radius could hear him. The gentle and shy Kira was now shouting at the top of his voice. But nobody could believe that of course unless they witnessed it themselves.

"It's ten-o-one Kira," Cagalli replied rolling her eyes. It has now become a habit for her to roll her eyes at her brother. "I'm only a minute late."

"A MINUTE AND FORTY THREE SECONDS LATE!" Kira corrected.

"Fine! A minute and forty three seconds late! No big deal!" Cagalli said.

"NO BIG DEAL? YOU ARE LATE AND THAT'S THAT!" Kira boomed.

"Lacus said be home _at_ ten, not _by_ ten. There's a difference you know... Or shall I ask Lacus to go and teach you English now?" Cagalli retorted.

"BUT THAT DOES NOT EXCUSE YOU FROM NOT ANSWERING MY PHONE CALLS!" Kira yelled.

"I was in the lawn walking towards the front door! It made no sense to answer your call when I was seconds away!" Cagalli was yelling too.

"I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER WHEN YOU WERE OUT IN THE CARNIVAL!" shouted Kira.

"YOU CALLED EVERY FREAKING FIVE MINUTES! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO ENJOY MYSELF WHEN YOU KEPT ON DISTURBING ME?" Cagalli shouted at the top of her voice. She tossed the stuffed lion in her arms to Kira as she threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. She then marched up the stairs and only came running back seconds later to snatch the stuffed toy back from Kira. Afterwards, she stomped up to her room and slammed the door so hard that the house shook.

"YOU!" Kira eyed Athrun menacingly as he caught Athrun trying to make a run for it. "I'm not done with you yet!"

**To be continued...**

Hope you like these two chapters! In my country, the sun sets around 6.30-7pm. The coaster ride was from my experience and the haunted house was made-up! This is such a typical high school fanfic! Lol! I love writing; I'm having so much fun!

**IMPORTANT NOTICE PLEASE READ:** I am going for a holiday next week so this is my _second last update until I come back_. I should be able to update one last time before I leave. If I don't, then I apologise in advance! And afterwards, the next time I can update will be towards the _end of December_. So sorry for the long wait! I hope you won't give up on my story!

So for now, PLEASE REVIEW! I WILL APPRECIATE REVIEWS! And no flames please! But you can give me suggestions on how I can write my story (how Athrun should confess to Cagalli or some drabbles etc) or improve it! I will appreciate that too! This story is NOT ending yet! I still have more stuff to write even after Athrun's confession! =)


	9. Chapter 9

This chapter is credited to trulyanimelover06 who suggested the whole idea for the festival.

Thank you so much everyone for reviewing! This is the longest chapter ever; the length is the usual two chapters combined! But I doubt the next chapter will be as long.

Dedications in alphabetical order: .CriMsonxLadY., Alice, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, Dhevz, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, patzie24, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06.

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.

Chapter 9

Cagalli Hibiki was thinking about a certain blue haired boy. She had always seen him eating alone in a corner at the cafeteria. There were times though where she would spot a bunch of girls joining him at his table. Their courage however had gone unrewarded. Somehow they would all end up in tears. Athrun would just completely ignore their presence or just leave for an empty table when those girls got too annoying.

The bell had rung signalling the end of the lesson and the start of the break. Cagalli turned to Athrun who was packing his books.

"Athrun, why don't you join me and my friends for recess?" Cagalli asked him with a smile. "Kira would be there..." Cagalli suddenly regretted her last few words. Though Kira and Athrun were good friends, they had been on bad terms recently. This was all because of Cagalli returning home 'a minute and forty three seconds' late. Athrun barely escaped Kira's wrath if not for a close save by Lacus who called just in the nick of time.

"It's alright. I'll pass," Athrun replied.

"Ok..." Cagalli said disappointed. "Wait for me then. Let's walk to the cafeteria together."

He was still expressionless. He merely stood beside Cagalli's desk and waited for her to finish packing. Cagalli hurried and they walked out of class together.

When they reached the cafeteria, Athrun found himself surprised when Cagalli followed him to his table and placed her bad beside his. He raised an eye brow at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked her stupidly.

"What do you think? I'm sitting here of course!" she replied.

"No, I meant why aren't you sitting with your friends? Why are you sitting with me?"

"Well, I _am_ sitting with _my friend._" she said. "Besides, it's a good change of atmosphere. I won't have to eat watching Kira's sour face. Not until I get home anyway."

"He's still angry with you? But won't sitting with me make it worse?" Athrun asked her.

"It's already at its worst. So it can't possibly get any worse than this," Cagalli told him matter-of-factly. By this time, both Athrun and Cagalli had bought their food and had settled down.

"Sorry," Athrun said quietly.

"What? Don't be ridiculous! It's not your fault! Kira's just being over protective. He's always like that," Cagalli assured him.

Cagalli then started rambling about her and Kira when they were young. She talked about how even though Kira was over-protective now; he was quite a cry-baby when they were young. She told Athrun that she would often get scolded by her father for making Kira cry. Athrun would then chuckle at her. He would listen intently to her.

The two were in a world of their own; they were oblivious to those around them. Kira was shooting daggers at Athrun, Meer was seething with jealousy and the other boys who had crushes on Cagalli were envious of Athrun for hogging all of her attention.

**... ... ...**

It was now gym class and everyone was assembled at the gym for a briefing about the upcoming festival.

"So, Cag," Miriallia said to Cagalli. "How far have you gone with Athrun?"

"Yea! What stage are you guys in?" Shiho joined in excitedly.

"What? What on earth are you girls talking about?" Cagalli asked dumbfounded.

Both Shiho and Mir rolled their eyes together.

Shiho then said, "Geez Cagalli! Are you playing dumb or are you really that dense?"

Cagalli raised an eye brow. "What?" she said.

Mir sighed, "Have you guys made out yet?"

"WHAT?" Cagalli exclaimed so loud that the other students, including her twin and Athrun, turned to look at her and Cagalli immediately turned away in embarrassment. "What is wrong with you girls? There is nothing going on between me and Athrun!" Cagalli said in a hushed whisper this time.

"Don't try to deny it Cagalli! Lacus told us you went on a date with Athrun to the carnival!" Mir told her. "And why were you sitting with him instead of us during the break? Come to think of it, you are always with him!"

Now it was Cagalli's turn to roll her eyes. "That is not true! I am not always with him! We just so happen to have quite a number of classes together. And that was not a date! We are merely friends, though he never really acknowledged it. But that's not the point! There is nothing going on between me and him ok? Besides, Kira will never allow it. You know how my dear twin is, he will terrorise any boy that tries to date me."

"Ok listen up everyone!" Miss Natarle Badgiruel the gym teacher barked. "As you all know, the upcoming Archangel Festival is a compulsory event, all students have to participate be it competing in the race or helping to organise the event or cheering for their fellow students."

"I heard from Lacus that Kira was rather scary when Athrun took Cagalli to the carnival," Mir whispered to Shiho, careful not to let Cagalli hear what she said.

"Yea! Notice Kira's sour face? He has been like that lately!" Shiho added quietly.

Both girls immediately kept quite when Miss Badgiruel glared at them. Natarle then continued, "Those interested in joining the race can sign up at the notice board outside the gym from tomorrow onwards."

Suddenly, Mr Mu La Flaga came out of nowhere and cut in. "Of course their will be attractive prizes to be won," Mu grinned. "Other than the usual prize, the winner will also get to accompany our very own Miss Cagalli Hibiki to the closing ceremony and of course, get a kiss from her."

"WHAT?" Both Kira and Cagalli shouted at the same time. The whole gym had erupted into excitement. When Mu announced the prize, most of the boys went wild, they wanted to join and compete in the race. But Kira and Cagalli were appalled.

"YOU NEVER TOLD ME YOU WERE THE PRIZE!" Kira yelled at his sister.

"THAT'S BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS THE DAMNED PRIZE UNTIL THIS MAD OLD MAN ANNOUNCED IT! I WASN'T EVEN CONSULTED!" Cagalli growled back. She then turned to face the eccentric teacher and glared at him. Most people would have scurried away but not this man.

"Ok, I may be a bit mad at times but I'm not old! I'm only 28!" the blonde teacher laughed. "And I was actually hoping you would volunteer."

"WELL I REJECT! I DO NOT WANT TO VOLUNTEER! GO AND FIND YOURSELF ANOTHER PRIZE!" Cagalli boomed.

"I SECOND THAT!" Kira supported.

Mu knew that the youngster would say that. He signed, "You see Miss Hibiki you are the incentive for the other students to take this festival seriously. So please help me out here!"

"No thank you! Find someone else!" Cagalli said. She was beyond pissed. How could they do this to her without even consulting her first? She hated being used.

Mu sighed once more. He had no choice. He was one of the other teachers in charged of this festival too. He bent down and whispered something in her ear.

"THAT'S BLACKMAIL!" Cagalli bellowed.

"Sorry Miss Hibiki, I'm at my wits end you know. You can have my head later," Mr La Flaga said apologetically.

Cagalli merely glared at the teacher and stomped off dragging the poor Kira with her. Kira did not hear what the teacher whispered to his sister. She was beyond furious as she dragged him out of the gym.

**... ... ...**

It was now the day of the festival almost everyone looked forward to it. The school was decorated with banners and balloons. The tents were set up and food and drinks stalls tended by the students lined the entire school. The booths for the amazing race were also set up. Almost everyone was excited for the race. For the first time ever, there were many participants, boys and girls alike. The boys all wanted to get the kiss from Cagalli while the other girls idolised Cagalli and wanted to spend time with their idol.

This was how the race works: Students have to race around the school and go through check points in sequences where they will receive a special rubber band. Once they received all ten bands which they can wear on their wrists, they must make their way to the finishing/starting line. There's also a limit to the number of bands given at each check point. Once all the bands in a particular check point has all been given out, the rest of the participants who were unable to collect those bands will automatically be eliminated.

The participants were all lined up. In a few minutes, the race would start. Kira looked at his competitors' eager faces, there were so many of them. He recalled last year that there were hardly thirty who signed up. This year seemed to have half the school signing up and Kira reckoned that the whole school would probably have signed up if there was no limit to the number of participants.

Kira remembered having to sleep in school so that he would be the first to sign up for the race. His efforts were paid up as within five minutes, all the slots for the race had been filled up. As a brother, it was up to Kira to save his sister. That meant that he had to win the race. He could not fail Cagalli, he promised her that.

Kira glanced around once more; ready take down anyone in his path. A familiar long lavender hair caught his attention and Kira cringed in disgust. Yuna was competing too. Of course! That lunatic was obsessed with his sister. He recalled him harassing Cagalli a few times even after both Kira and Cagalli beat the crap out of him. Kira was now even more determined to win the race. There was no way he was going to let some psychopath lay a finger on his precious sister.

"Athrun?" Kira suddenly spoke as he saw his friend beside him on the starting line. "What are you doing here? Why are you competing?" Kira was bewildered.

"Why are you competing?" Athrun asked back, not answering Kira's question.

"Of course I have to join! _My sister is the damned prize for goodness sake!_ I have to protect her!" Kira nearly shouted. "And what about you? You have no reason to join!"

"Cagalli is my friend too. I just want to help out. Besides, two people is better than one don't you think?" Athrun replied. The truth was that Athrun could not stand the fact of Cagalli going to kiss another guy. Just the thought of it makes Athrun mad. He knew that Cagalli was forced into it as he knew that she was not one to volunteer. Still, he was thinking of giving her a good lecture afterwards for getting herself into that mess.

Kira raised a brow at his friend. He was not sure what on earth Athrun was thinking. Sure Kira trusted Athrun with his life, but not with his sister's. No one will be good enough for his sister. But then again, among all the other boys in school, Kira would very much prefer Athrun. He would have to let that one pass for now.

At the spectator stand, something else was going on.

"Twenty bucks on Zala!" Yzac said confidently.

"I say twenty on Kira!" Shiho replied. "No one should ever underestimate the power of sibling love!"

"I'll take my chances with Zala!" Mir said. "Though Kira is one of the best sportsmen, everyone knows Zala is better. Twenty bucks on Athrun!"

"But I agree with Shiho! You should see Kira's over-protective-mode! He becomes a berserker! He'll surely win! Ten bucks on Kira!" Dearka joined in.

"I thought you're confident of Kira winning?" Mir questioned Dearka's bet.

"Yea I am, but I'm also broke," Dearka chuckled.

"OK GET TO YOUR POSITIONS COMPETITORS!" Miss Badgiruel barked. Suddenly everyone else tensed up. The race was about to start.

"READY, GO!" Natarle shouted and the race began. The crowd erupted into roars and excitements; they were rooting for their friends. The participants were all rushing for the first check point. The tennis court was the first stop. Participants have to complete a series of Sudoku puzzles. Once they have completed the puzzles and are correct, they will receive the special band and they can move on to the next check point. There were only fifty bands to be given for the first check point. In less than twenty minutes, only fifty participants were left, the rest were all eliminated.

"Cagalli?" Kira exclaimed when he caught sight of his blonde twin at the second check point. "What are you doing here? You didn't join the race too did you?" Kira asked.

"Of course I joined the race! You expect me to sit still and wait for you to save my butt? I don't think so!" Cagalli replied.

"Of course," Kira thought. He did not spot her earlier on due to the massive number of competitors. Only when there were less people did he finally see her. His sister was no damsel in distress. She could very well take care of herself. He would be just behind her for backup.

Athrun was surprised too. Though he knew Cagalli would probably put up a fuss, he never thought about her joining the race. Cagalli was sure something. She was predictable yet unpredictable at the same time. Athrun knew that it's very contradicting but that's the only way he could describe her.

It was now the last two check points before the finishing line. There were five people left: Cagalli, Athrun, Kira, another boy called Heine, and surprisingly Yuna. No one would expect a loser like Yuna to be in the top five but no one would be surprised either if he used underhanded means to get to his position.

The second last check point was Archery. There were only three bands for that stop and the first three students to get bulls-eye will receive the bands. Athrun and Cagalli were the first two to receive their bands and they preceded to the last check point. Kira however was having trouble concentrating. Lacus was in charge of that check point. He didn't want to embarrass himself in front of her.

"Go Kira! You can do it!" Lacus cheered.

This however made Kira all the more nervous and frantic. He could feel her blue eyes looking at him with excitement and anticipation. Athrun and Cagalli already passed that station and Kira knew that he had to buck up if he were to join them. "Breathe Kira breathe! You can do this! You have done this many times before!" Kira told himself. Kira took aim, pulled the elastic string of the bow and released it.

Bulls-eye! Kira looked towards Lacus triumphantly, only for her to look back at him with an apologetic smile. Kira suddenly frowned. He didn't know what was wrong. He had hit bulls-eye didn't he? He followed her gaze to another student who handed the band to a smirking Yuna.

"WHAT?" Kira shouted in his head. Apparently, Yuna had miraculously beaten him to the bulls-eye. Kira was stunned. Of all the people, it had to be Yuna. Kira then started praying and hoping that either Athrun or Cagalli would win. He could not even bear the thought of Yuna coming near his sister.

Kira was angry and disappointed at himself for losing concentration. If he focused in the first place, he would have gotten his bulls-eye the same time as Athrun and Cagalli. He had failed his sister. He could only watch now. There was nothing else he could do.

The final check point was to look for a needle in a haystack, seriously. They had to look for the final band amidst an enormous pile of haystack. There were two bands in the haystack and only when a band was found that the participant and can make his/her way to the finishing line.

Athrun and Cagalli who were the first two to reach the last check point were already busy searching for the bands. Yuna came minutes later to join them. Cagalli was livid. She was screaming inside her head. How come Yuna was here? Where was her brother Kira? Athrun was surprised too to see Yuna instead of Kira. Seeing Yuna only made Athrun more determined to win the race. He could not and would not allow Yuna to touch Cagalli.

"I found it!" Yuna cried out. "Cagalli darling you are mine now!" Yuna had found one of the bands and was now laughing like an idiot while running towards the finishing line.

Not giving up, Athrun continued to dig until his pale hands suddenly touched something elastic. He gave a tug and out came the last band. He looked up at Cagalli and she noticed that he had found the last band. He had a confused look in his face. Actually he was deliberating whether to give the last band to Cagalli or to keep it and run to the finishing line hoping that he could beat Yuna.

"What are you waiting for Athrun? Go!" Cagalli screamed. "You can't let that pervert win!"

She had made the decision for him. Without thinking about in anymore, he rushed off to the finishing line. Yuna already had a head start, but Athrun was a fast runner and obviously way more athletic than Yuna.

The crowd at the spectator stand were shouting and cheering. They had spotted one of the competitors running towards the finishing line. Kira was already there too waiting and his jaw dropped when he saw the person he least expected. Yuna was in the lead and running towards the line. Kira suddenly found himself cursing and swearing profanities. He could not believe and did not want Yuna to win. In Kira's mind, he was already thinking of a hundred and one ways to kill Yuna before the prize presentation.

The sudden increase in the volume of cheers and roars of excitement of the crowd snapped Kira out of his thoughts. He wondered what had gotten into the crowd for suddenly screaming louder and his heart leapt with joy as he saw another figure behind Yuna. Maybe it was not too late. Though Yuna was close to the finishing line, the other competitor wasn't far behind and was catching up.

"ATHRUN YOU BASTARD YOU BETTER RUN FASTER!" Kira hollered and cheered for his friend. Athrun was his last hope of saving Cagalli from the evil clutches of Yuna. "I WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU IF YOU DON'T WIN THIS ONE!"

"ZALA RUN FASTER! EVEN YZAC'S MOTHER CAN RUN FASTER THAN YOU!" Dearka yelled.

"SHUT UP ELSMAN!" Yzac smacked Dearka's head before shouting, "ZALA YOU HEAR ME! YOU BETTER NOT EMBARASS US SPORTSMEN!"

"You can do it Athrun!" Lacus cheered.

"Yes Athrun! Run!" Shiho and Mir joined in.

Athrun could hear everyone cheering for him. Though running was a natural thing for him, he was really pushing himself this time. He had to beat Yuna to the finishing line for himself, for Kira, for everyone, and lastly for Cagalli. Suddenly a flash of blonde caught his attention. Cagalli was already at the finishing line. Since Cagalli was no longer in the race, she didn't have to take the marked path and she could take the short cut.

"Athrun you can do it! You are almost here!" Cagalli cheered.

Looking at her and hearing her voice rooting for no one but him, Athrun felt himself flying towards the finishing line, towards her.

And the crowd erupted into applause. The race was now over.

Athrun's heart was pounding really hard and really fast from the running he did. His face was dripping of sweat and his neck and the exposed part of his chest that the jersey did not hide seemed to be glistening due to the colourless liquid that covered them. Athrun spotted a wave of blonde running towards his direction. Her small frame was suddenly slammed against his as Cagalli jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, giving him a hug.

"You won! Thank goodness! I'm so glad!" Cagalli was squealing in delight.

Athrun didn't know what to say. He just stood there blushing. He was stunned and happy at the same time because Cagalli was hugging him. "You shouldn't hug me, I'm sticky and sweaty. I'll get you all dirty," Athrun decided to say.

"It doesn't matter! You won! You saved me and that's what matters!" Cagalli replied.

Athrun returned the embrace. Since she wouldn't care about him being sticky and sweaty, he wouldn't either. Right now, all he wanted was to hug her back and keep her in his arms for as long as possible. Both of them were oblivious to the stares pointing at them.

"Geez, for a moment there I thought I was doomed! I really thought I had to kiss Yuna! That would have been grossed!" Cagalli continued talking as she broke their embrace. It was a good thing they stopped hugging too or Kira would have jumped in and pulled them apart.

Athrun's eyes suddenly hardened as he thought of the reality that would have happened if he had not won. "Just what were you thinking getting yourself into the mess? Why did you agree to it in the first place?" Athrun scolded her.

Cagalli knew what Athrun was talking about. She tried to explain. "It's not like I volunteered you know! I was forced! He blackmailed me!" Cagalli said pointing to Mr La Flaga who was walking towards them grinning.

"Congratulation Mr Zala!" Mu said to Athrun.

Athrun glared at the teacher. He was partially mad at the teacher for making Cagalli the prize.

Mu sensed the threat and anger coming out of Athrun. "Hey there kiddo, calm down! No harm done you know! You won!" Mu tried to pacify the raging Athrun who still continued glaring at him.

"What did I ever do to you?" Dearka was scolding the brunette. "I lost ten bucks because of you Kira! Ten bucks! What did I do to deserve this cruel fate?" Dearka dramatically lamented.

"Don't complain Dearka! I lost twice as much as you did! I lost twenty bucks! Twenty! Why didn't you win Kira?" Shiho cut in.

"Err... Sorry?" Kira said unsure of saying anything else.

While Dearka and Shiho were moping for their loss, Mir and Yzac were rejoicing away.

"We won Yzac! We Won! Yay!" Mir was exclaiming. "This is a worth while investment!"

Yzac grunted in agreement as he counted his money.

**... ... ...**

It was now the closing ceremony for the annual Archangel Festival. The golden trophy was handed over to Athrun as he humbly bowed before the crowd. Cagalli and the rest of the gang stood beside him as they clapped their hands.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss" the students suddenly started chanting.

Cagalli immediately stiffened. She almost forgot about the last part of the prize. She had to kiss Athrun!

"It's alright, you don't have to," Athrun assured Cagalli. She merely looked back at him with wide eyes unsure of what to do.

"Kiss! Kiss!" the others were still chanting.

Cagalli looked around and saw everyone's expecting faces. She really had no choice but to go along with it. Her pride forced her to do it. Looking at her face, Athrun noticed that she was blushing.

"Close your eyes!" Cagalli hissed at Athrun. She did not look at him in the eye.

"What?" Athrun asked confused.

"I said close your eyes!" Cagalli replied in a hush whisper. "And keep it closed until I tell you to!"

"Alright," Athrun whispered back. He obeyed her and closed his eyes.

Finally looking up to make sure Athrun's eyes were really closed, she wound her arms around his neck as she tiptoed to peck Athrun on the lips.

**To be continued...**

Gosh I'm glad that I managed to update this. I thought I would not make it. Ok see you folks towards the end of December! Sorry for the long wait! I really hope you like this chapter! PLEASE REVIEW!

To trulyanimelover06: Thank you so much for your idea though I made slight changes. I hope this is not below your expectation.


	10. Chapter 10

Hi folks! I am back! Sorry for making everyone wait and thanks for all your reviews! I'll try to be less confusing and the idea of the entire festival in chapter nine of course belonged to trulyanimelover06!

Since I was away for so long, I decided to write a quick summary on the previous chapters just in case some of you have forgotten. If it's still fresh in your memory, you can skip it and scroll down to read chapter ten. I hope I'm not too bad at the summary. Enjoy!

Dedications: .CriMsonxLadY., Alice, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, patzie24, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06.

Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.

… … …

_Previously on High School Drama…_

_Cagalli transferred to Archangel Academy which was the school of her twin brother Kira. She immediately became friends with her brother's friends namely Lacus, Miriallia, Shiho, Dearka and Yzac. On her first day in school, she met the infamous Athrun Zala who was nicknamed 'the ice prince' for his cold and aloof personality. She took an instant disliking to him. It was also revealed that Kira was one of Athrun's very few friends._

_Things changed along the way for Athrun and Cagalli. She was partnered with him for the baby project and Athrun slowly warmed up to her. She was one of the very few people that Athrun actually conversed with. There were numerous times when Athrun helped Cagalli. One of which was saving her when she was harassed by Yuna. The other time was when Cagalli fell into the drain and injured herself when she collided onto Meer and Athrun carried her home._

_Meer was a 'Lacus-copy-cat' and she could not get Athrun's attention no matter how hard she tried. She was jealous of Cagalli's popularity and Cagalli's closeness to Athrun. Meer was also responsible for locking Cagalli inside the chiller room earlier on. Cagalli was joined by Athrun in the chiller room not long after. It was Kira who finally found and saved them afterwards._

_Feeling indebted for the countless number of times he helped her, Cagalli gave a pair of carnival tickets to Athrun. Of course Athrun rejected the tickets and the two ended up serving detention where they discovered an abandoned music room. Cagalli played the piano for Athrun and he promised to play the violin for her another time. In the end, Cagalli went with Athrun to the carnival as he had no one else to go with. Athrun won for her a giant stuffed lion._

_Athrun actually noticed his feelings for Cagalli but he tried to suppress them as he was still thinking of waiting for his childhood friend. Athrun only met her once when he was younger and he didn't know her full name. That girl left behind a Haumea stone necklace and since then, the necklace always hung around Athrun's neck._

_Finally, Cagalli was blackmailed into being a prize for the Archangel Festival's race. Athrun, Kira, Cagalli and Yuna signed up for the race and Athrun won. Though Athrun told her that she doesn't have to kiss him, Cagalli kissed him in the end because of her pride._

… … …

_Chapter 9…_

"_Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss" the students suddenly started chanting._

_Cagalli immediately stiffened. She almost forgot about the last part of the prize. She had to kiss Athrun!_

"_It's alright, you don't have to," Athrun assured Cagalli. She merely looked back at him with wide eyes unsure of what to do._

"_Kiss! Kiss!" the others were still chanting._

_Cagalli looked around and saw everyone's expecting faces. She really had no choice but to go along with it. Her pride forced her to do it. Looking at her face, Athrun noticed that she was blushing._

"_Close your eyes!" Cagalli hissed at Athrun. She did not look at him in the eye._

"_What?" Athrun asked confused._

"_I said close your eyes!" Cagalli replied in a hush whisper. "And keep it closed until I tell you to!"_

"_Alright," Athrun whispered back. He obeyed her and closed his eyes._

_Finally looking up to make sure Athrun's eyes were really closed, she wound her arms around his neck as she tiptoed to peck Athrun on the lips._

… … …

Chapter 10

Athrun stood very still. He lost his breath and his heart seemed to have missed a beat. Cagalli had actually kissed him! The kiss was short. It was just a simple peck on the lips. Before Athrun knew it, Cagalli pulled away from him. His eyes were wide open in shock. _"She kissed me! Gosh! She just kissed me!" _Athrun was screaming in his mind. He was still staring incredulously at Cagalli. _"Am I dreaming? Please no! I don't want this to be a dream!" _Athrun's face flushed athe thought about Cagalli and the kiss.

Cagalli pulled away right after their lips briefly touched. She was so embarrassed. Athrun was staring right at her and she felt that her cheeks were so hot that she could fry an egg on it. Cagalli turned away. She couldn't look at Athrun now. She couldn't believe what she had just done. She touched her lips. There goes her first kiss. Just what was she thinking? The truth was that she didn't feel as though she regretted kissing Athrun. Her only regret was not making the kiss last longer. She mentally scolded herself. How could she think that way?

The crowd was erupting into applause. They were all smiling at Cagalli and Athrun. As Cagalli turned to the side, she noticed her brother's scowl. Of course he won't be too happy about it. She figured that she would receive a long lecture from him later. Cagalli looked back at Athrun. He seemed to be in a daze.

"Ok! Fun part is over! Go mind your own business now!" Kira said hushing the crowd as he jumped in between Cagalli and Athrun to break them apart.

"You've got to trust Kira to come into the right time," Dearka chuckled.

"He looks really pissed off!" Mir said.

"Yea, unlike the other two! They both looked love-struck!" Shihi laughed.

"Oh don't let Kira hear you! He'll skin you alive!" Mir told Shiho laughing as well.

**... ... ...**

It has been a few days since the Archangel Festival. School went on as usual. Athrun and Cagalli pretended that nothing had happened and the gang were smart enough not to mention anything about 'the kiss'. But every time Athrun thought about it, his hands would automatically touch his lips. He would blush furiously too. It was their first kiss, his first kiss too for that matter.

With Cagalli's insistence, Athrun now sat with the usual gang during breaks. Of course, that did not come without threats and violence. Cagalli practically dragged Athrun to their table. Everyone including Kira welcomed Athrun into the gang. Kira was after all grateful that Athrun had saved Cagalli even though he personally found 'the kiss' distasteful. But Kira never mentioned that to his sister as something told him that it was more prudent to do so.

So now Athrun was part of their gang. He never talked much but the gang didn't mind. They just accepted him. Athrun was overwhelmed by their friendliness. He truly felt one of them and enjoyed their company. Even Yzac, the grouchy one who seemed to be always mad at the world, gave Athrun a helping hand.

A junior had accidentally dirtied Athrun's gym clothes right before gym class and Athrun did not have a spare. It was Yzac who lent Athrun his extra attire right before he threatened Athrun not to tell anyone about it.

"Athrun? Hello? Earth to Athrun?" Mir called out to Athrun. The gang with the exception of the twins were seated at their table at the cafeteria. The twins were forced to run an errand for Mr La Flaga and they would join the gang shortly after.

"Umm, yea?" Athrun snapped out of his thoughts. He was thinking about his new found friends and they had noticed that he was spacing out.

"Were you listening to us?" Mir asked him.

"Umm sorry, no," Athrun replied truthfully.

Miriallia sighed. "Kira's and Cagalli's birthday is coming. We're thinking of giving them a surprise party," she told him.

Athrun merely nodded.

"So what are you going to give Cagalli?" Lacus interrupted. "Have you thought of something special?"

Everyone suddenly snapped their heads to Athrun. They looked at him curiously only to be disappointed with his response.

"No, am I supposed to?" he asked honestly.

"What kind of a question is that?" Dearka burst out laughing. "Seriously? And I thought Yzac had it bad!"

"SHUT UP ELSMAN!" Yzac roared at Dearka and gave him one of those deathly glares. Everyone else giggled.

"Is this your first time or what?" Shiho asked Athrun directly.

"Huh?" Athrun was bewildered. Somehow along the conversation, he had lost them.

"She asked you if Cagalli's your first love," Yzac said more bluntly.

Athrun felt his cheeks burn. He wondered how the topic shifted to him. They were talking about the birthday party one moment and the next it was him.

"I don't think he even realises that he likes her," Mir said not so softly.

"Gosh, he sure is slow. We knew it before he did," Dearka agreed.

"Anyway, back to our first topic, Kira's and Cagalli's surprise party..." Shiho said.

"I think we should wrap it up guys, the twins are back," Lacus cut in pointing to the flustered siblings walking down the cafeteria. They looked as if they had been tortured by La Flaga.

**... ... ...**

Athrun reached home that day after a tiring baseball practise. The house was cold and empty as usual. Though the servants were there, Athrun barely saw them. Athrun trudged up the stairs and into his bedroom.

Kira's and Cagalli's birthday was a few days away. He already bought a present for Kira. It was a new tennis racket, an expensive one made of titanium. He wondered what to get for Kira's blonde twin. She wasn't like normal girls. He sighed. _"Chocolates? Teddy bears? No, those are too common and typical. Besides, her house is practically a chocolate factory and I just won her a stuffed lion," _Athrun thought.

After taking a shower, Athrun lied down on his bed to think some more. He had already finished his homework. All he had to do now was to find a present for Cagalli. _"Hmm... maybe I can take her out tomorrow and see if there's anything that will interest her. Will that be too obvious? What are you thinking Athrun! Of course it'll be obvious!"_

Athrun glanced at the red stone hanging around his neck. It was glowing even in the dim light. He sighed. _"I guess I shouldn't hold on to this anymore..." _He stood up, took the necklace off and placed it on his bedside table.

"_Should I get her a tennis racket like Kira? No, that won't do either. Her racket is rather new. Sigh... This is hard!" _Athrun grabbed fistfuls of his midnight blue hair in frustration. _"Think Athrun think! How hard can it be to buy a girl a birthday present? It doesn't have to be anything special... No. Screw that thought. It HAS to be special."_ Athrun was talking to himself. Suddenly, an idea struck him. A wide smile was plastered on his face. _"Perfect!"_

**... ... ...**

A few days had passed and it was now Kira's and Cagalli's birthday.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Cagalli exclaimed as she placed bags full of gifts on her desk not too gently.

"Morning Cagalli! Happy Birthday!" Athrun greeted her with a smile. "Wow, you sure received a lot of presents," Athrun said gesturing to the bags of chocolates, candies, and stuffed toys. _"Phew! I'm so glad I didn't get her any of those," _Athrun thought.

"A lot is an understatement. There's more," Cagalli pointed to door where Mir and Shiho came stumbling in with many other bags full of presents.

Cagalli was not very pleased. She had come to school with Kira and suddenly mobs full of students came throwing presents at them. She actually thought that it was some kind of joke being pulled by her friends. But the presents never stopped coming. Boys and girls she never knew walked up to her and dumped their presents on her. She couldn't even reject them, the students all ran away right after they gave her their presents and well wishes. There were so many that she needed both Mir and Shiho's help to bring them to class. Lacus was helping Kira manage his own presents too.

"You don't look too happy about this," Athrun pointed out.

"Of course I'm not happy! How do you expect me to deal with this madness! Hell, I don't even dare open my locker because I know I'll be drowned with all the cards it was stuffed with! Just look at my locker from a far! It looks like a stuffed turkey!" Cagalli wailed.

Athrun figured that now was not the best time to give Cagalli his present. She was already overwhelmed by the presents random strangers had given her and was sure that she will not appreciate one more. Athrun sighed; all his efforts were for nothing if he was not going to give it to her.

"Wow! Is there a Santa Claus in our class today?" Mr Andrew Waltfield joked when he saw the mountain pile of presents on Cagalli's desk.

"No, it's just Cagalli Hibiki," Dearka chuckled which earned him a glare from Cagalli.

**... ... ...**

It was now break time and since Athrun and Cagalli just had a class together, the two were now walking side by side to the cafeteria.

"Cagalli," Athrun started to say but he was panicking all of a sudden. _"No Athrun! Don't give it to her! She won't like it! You'll only embarrass yourself!" Athrun was screaming in his head._

"Yes Athrun?" Cagalli looked at the bluenette bewildered. He looked like he was in agony. It was as if he wanted to say something but he somehow couldn't. "What is it Athrun? You know you can tell me..." Cagalli said.

"I... I err... Umm..." Athrun was stuttering. He couldn't seem to find his words. _"What the heck is wrong with you? You are making a fool out if yourself!" Athrun was scolding himself._

"Athrun?" Cagalli called out again. Athrun was acting weirdly.

"_Ok Athrun, just calm yourself down. Breathe! You don't have to say anything anymore. You'll just make it worse. Just take the present out and give it to her. You don't have to talk. Yea that's it," Athrun was assuring himself. "Alright, just do it! It's now or never!"_

Athrun was about to hand Cagalli his present when suddenly a tenor voice rang in the air, "CAGALLI DARLINGGG!"

Cagalli and Athrun both turned around. "No this can't be happening..." both of them thought together. Apparently, the two of them had recognised that irksome voice. Athrun then quickly shoved his present back into his bag. Now was not the time to give it to Cagalli.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DARLING!" Yuna screamed as he lunged at Cagalli, attempting to give her a kiss.

Luckily, Yuna was stopped. Someone had appeared and jumped in front of him, blocking his way. "Stay away from my sister if you know what's best for you!" Kira warned. He seemed to be really annoyed.

"Aww... Don't be like this Kira! We'll be family soon and I just wanted to give my present and wish Cagalli a happy birthday!" Yuna said.

"First of all Yuna, we'll never be family unless I'm dead. And even if I was buried ten feet under, Cagalli will never be with you. So you can just perish that thought. And secondly, Cagalli doesn't want your present. So you can just burn it or keep it for yourself," Kira told Yuna.

"But how do you know that Cagalli doesn't want my present?" Yuna countered.

"Because we're twins!" Cagalli finally spoke up. "Haven't you heard of twin telepathy? But then again with that pea size brain of yours, you probably wouldn't know anything. So make things easier for all of us and go away now."

"That's not a very nice thing to say to me you know darling," Yuna said.

"She asked you to go away. You heard her. So SCRAM!" Kira yelled at Yuna.

Kira looked absolutely terrorising that Yuna scurried away in fright.

"Thanks Kira," Cagalli said to her brother.

"No problem sis," Kira replied.

"The others are waiting for us," Athrun suddenly said. He was quiet the whole time during the confrontation with Yuna. Without waiting for either twin to reply, Athrun ushered the twins to the cafeteria.

"Hello Kira, Athrun and Cagalli!" the others greeted them as they entered the cafeteria.

"No presents for us?" Kira joked as he saw their friends empty handed.

"Of course we do!" Lacus giggled. "But we figured that both of you will have your hands full with your other presents and so we have decided to make our presents extra special by having them delivered to your house! You'll receive them later when you reach home!"

"Thanks guys but you shouldn't have! Kira was just joking you know..." Cagalli smiled.

"Heh Heh! Yea, I'm joking guys!" Kira laughed as he rubbed the back of his head.

The break passed just like any other normal breaks. The teens talked about school and the latest gossips. As usual, Athrun was quiet. He was still not used to talking a lot. But there was still one thing on Athrun's mind: Cagalli's present. He was having cold feet. He did not feel like giving his present to Cagalli anymore.

**... ... ...**

It was finally after school. The twins were now walking home together. It also seemed that the whole school had gotten presents for the twins. Kira and Cagalli had so many presents that they couldn't bring all of them home in one round. Luckily, their friends offered to take home their presents and the twins could just stop by their house to collect the presents the next day.

"Oh my gosh! Kira look! A pig!" Cagalli pointed to the green bushes.

"What? Are you sure sis? I think you're seeing things. There is no farm here. What would a pig be doing..." Kira replied.

"It's over there now! And no, I am not seeing things! I know what I saw!" Cagalli said.

"Where? Honestly Cagalli, I can't see anything. You aren't pulling my leg are you?" Kira asked.

"It's there again!" Cagalli exclaimed as she ran to the park to chase after the 'pig'.

"Hey sis! Wait up! Don't leave me behind!" Kira called out as he rushed to catch up with his sister.

"Hurry up slow poke!" Cagalli replied. And the twins started to run after the 'pig'.

It was already late by the time the twins arrived home. They were drenched in sweat and were panting. The 'pig' had disappeared halfway and the twins decided to abandon the search as it was dark already.

"Chase after the pig! Yea! What a great idea! I didn't even see it!" Kira complained as the twins walked up their front porch.

"I never asked you to come with me! You decided to tag along! And I know what I saw! It was this tall," Cagalli said as she gestured with her hands that the pig was nearly two metres tall. "And I could have sworn it was telling us to follow it!"

"Shall I take you to see the doctor sis? You must be hallucinating! I can't believe I wasted my time and went along with your craziness. How can a pig be two metres tall in the first place?" Kira said as he unlocked the door.

"How would I..." Cagalli didn't finish.

"SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIRA AND CAGALLI!"

The lights suddenly turned on when Kira and Cagalli entered the house and their friends suddenly jumped out and popped confetti into the air. Their friends threw them a surprise party. The house was decorated with balloons and a banner which said 'happy birthday'. Obviously the surprise party worked as the twins didn't know what hit them.

"Is that the pig you saw?" Kira asked Cagalli in disbelieve as he pointed to the pink mascot.

"Of course it is!" Cagalli exclaimed. "What did you expect? A real live little pig that goes oink oink? There is no such thing as a real pig that's that tall you know."

"You could have been more specific you know..." Kira mumbled.

"Wait, there's two of them here," Cagalli stated.

As if on cue, the two mascots took of their head pieces and revealed a smirking Dearka and a grumpy Yzac.

"Happy birthday you two!" Dearka laughed.

Yzac merely grunted. It looked as if he had been forced to do it.

"Of course! There were two of you! That's why you were so fast!" Kira said. "I don't suppose you guys were willing volunteers?"

"The credit goes to us of course!" Mir and Shiho said together.

"And I must say Dearka and Yzac, you both did a great job of stalling them. We never would have finished in time if it wasn't for you two," Lacus smiled.

"Of course, I'll do anything for my Mir!" Dearka chuckled.

Yzac merely granted. "Remember your promise woman!" Yzac told Shiho.

Shiho rolled her eyes and said, "Yea yea I know! You don't have to keep reminding me, I'm not senile!"

"What did you promise him?" Cagalli asked.

Shiho laughed, "Well, his mother showed me some of his baby photos and she gave me one of them to keep. You should know the rest. You know how blackmail works right?"

"Yea, tell me about it... I totally understand how he feels... Been there and done it before..." Cagalli replied.

"Ok everyone! Presents time!" Lacus chirped as she ushered everyone into the dining room where all the presents lay.

"Open mine and Dearka's first Cagalli! Oh Kira, this is for you." Mir said as she gave hers and Dearka's presents to the twins.

"This is mine and Yzac's," Shiho said as she handed a nicely wrapped box to the twins each.

"Don't forget about me!" Lacus giggled. "This is mine!" Lacus said as she handed two pink boxes to the twins."

"Thanks guys! But you shouldn't have troubled yourselves!" Kira and Cagalli said in unison.

While everyone was giving their presents to the twins, Athrun stood by the side frowning. He didn't want to give his present to Cagalli as he thought it was not good enough. Being Athrun, he decided to walk away and sulk by himself.

Kira noticed that and he followed his friend to the living room.

"Where's my present Athrun?" Kira demanded. "Everyone has given me theirs except you."

Athrun looked at his friend and smiled. He then pointed to the table where he placed Kira's present. Just like a kid, Kira rushed over and ripped open his present, he already knew what it was by its shape.

"Wow! It's titanium! This must be expensive! Thank you Athrun! This is too much but I'll accept it anyway! It's rude to reject presents you know!" Kira said excitedly as he examined his new tennis racket.

"Glad you like it Kira," Athrun replied.

"So Athrun, have you given Cagalli your present yet?" Kira suddenly asked his friend.

"What? No, I haven't. No! I mean I didn't prepare one!" Athrun said. He decided not to give his present to Cagalli anymore.

"Liar! I know you got something for her! I saw it!" Kira told Athrun.

Athrun gave Kira a pleading look. "No! Please don't! I..."

"CAGALLIIIIIIII! ATHRUN HAS A PRESENT FOR YOOOOUUUUUUUU!" Kira shouted to his sister before Athrun finished his sentence. He looked over to Athrun and saw that his friend had turned white. Athrun's naturally pale and when he lost his colour, he turned white literally.

"_Kira no! Why did you do it? No! I don't want her to see my pathetic present!" _Athrun was screaming inside his head. _"Cagalli please don't come here! Please God! Don't let her hear Kira! Don't let her hear him!" _But Athrun's prayers were unanswered.

"Really?" Cagalli said excitedly as she jumped in front of Athrun. She had a palm face out demanding the present. "So where is it?"

Before Athrun could reply, Kira reached into Athrun's bag and pulled out a white box. "Here it is!" Kira said as he handed Athrun's present to Cagalli.

Athrun was very stiff. Part of him wanted to snatch the present back while the other part wanted him to dig a hole in the ground and bury his head in it like an ostrich.

"Can I open it now?" Cagalli asked Athrun.

"_No! Don't open it! Never open it! Just throw it away!" _Athrun wanted to tell her. Instead, he said, "Sure."

"_No! Now you're dooming yourself!" _Athrun was telling himself in his mind.

"Happy birthday! Happy birthday!" said a mechanical voice. Cagalli got a shock as a small yellowish golden kitten slightly smaller than the size of her hand jumped out of the box and started talking.

"I'm Koneko! How are you? Happy birthday!" the robot said in its mechanical voice as it jumped into Cagalli's palms.

Cagalli's expression was a very shocked one. Athrun walked over to Cagalli as he attempted to snatch the robotic kitten that called itself 'Koneko' just now. "It's alright if you don't like it, I'll just take it back now," Athrun said to Cagalli.

"No! Don't be silly! I love it! This is way better than Kira's Tori!" Cagalli told him. "Thank you so much Athrun! It's the best present ever!"

(Tori is a mechanical pet bird made by Athrun and given to Kira quite a long time ago)

Cagalli then gave Athrun a hug which made him turn scarlet again. Cagalli really liked Koneko and Athrun didn't really expect that.

"No, Tori is better! He can fly!" Kira argued with his sister as he successfully managed to break his sister's and friend's embrace.

"No! Koneko can talk! Koneko is better!" Cagalli pulled out from Athrun and retorted as she stuck her tongue out childishly.

"Oh yea?" Kira said to his sister before turning to Athrun. "Athrun! You made Tori, make him talk!" Kira demanded.

**To be continued…**

PLEASE REVIEW!

I hope you like this chapter!

The kiss had to be short! After all, Cagalli can't kiss Athrun passionately in public when she was kind of forced into it right? But of course there will be more kissing scenes later!

Koneko is kitten in Japanese. Am I right? I went to an online translator. It should be correct.

To those who read the summary, was it too long and too draggy? Did you find it useful or a waste of space?

And just some spoilers for the next chapter, a certain childhood friend of Cagalli is joining Archangel Academy! Can you guess who the person is? Till next time folks!


	11. Chapter 11

**Ok folks! Let's see if your guess is correct! Sorry if he's not the person you wanted him to be! I kind of like him so I'm using him. Enjoy! And thank you for all of your reviews! Most writers in my opinion love getting reviews and reviews motivate us to write!**

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Alice, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, patzie24, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

… … …

Chapter 11

Athrun Zala was ecstatic; he was smiling like a fool for days. Cagalli Hibiki liked his present. She had said so herself. And she probably wasn't lying either. Kira had told him that Cagalli had spent most of her free time playing with Koneko and she was really fond of it. Kira thought that Koneko was good for Cagalli too. She wasn't disturbing him as much now that she had a new pet to channel all her excess energy into.

Athrun still remembered the little argument the twins had over which mechanical pet was better. Athrun thought about Kira's disappointed face when he told him that he would not be able to make Tori talk as Tori was built and programmed differently.

Looking over at Cagalli, Athrun was smiling to himself again. She was now more than a friend Athrun had decided. He was going to confess his feelings to her soon and Athrun prayed that she would not reject him straight away and instead give him a chance to make her happy.

Cagalli was in full concentration and she didn't notice the bluenette looking at her. She was in the midst of arm wrestling with a boy named Sai at one of the classrooms right before the lesson.

"Come on Sai! Don't embarrass us guys! You can't lose to a girl!" the classroom boys shouted.

"You can do it Cagalli! Show the boys what we girls are made of!" the classroom girls cheered for Cagalli.

It was barely ten seconds into the challenge and it was soon over. Cagalli had a victory smirk plastered on her face right before she ended the game and slammed Sai's hand on the table.

"Oh man! You've got to be kidding me! She won again!" a boy said depressed.

"Great job Cagalli! You sure showed those egoistic boys!" the girls said to Cagalli.

The first bell rang signalling the start of the lesson and everyone returned to their seats to prepare for the lesson. It was now Physics class with Miss Marrue Ramius. Rumour has it that she was going out with the history and life skills teacher, Mr Mu La Flaga. The teacher seemed to be running late today. The bell had rung and Miss Ramius was not here yet.

"Cagalli," Athrun hesitated.

"Yes Athrun?" Cagalli asked.

"I err... What I mean is... Umm... Err..." Athrun couldn't find the right words to say. _"Zala what is wrong with you? If other people hear you they will laugh their heads off! You have to pull yourself together!" Athrun thought._

Athrun took a deep breath before he finally muttered out his words. "Can we meet alone later? I need to tell you something," Athrun mumbled. _"Finally! You said it! It wasn't that bad was it now?" Athrun thought to himself as he exhaled as a form of relief._

Cagalli looked puzzled. "Umm yeah. Sure. Ok!" She replied.

Just then, Miss Ramius entered the class. "Good morning class," the teacher greeted. "Today, we have a new student." Turing to the door, Marrue gave a nod as a signal. "Please come in now and introduce yourself," Miss Ramius said.

A boy with jet black hair and ruby red eyes walked in.

"Shinn!" Cagalli suddenly said out loud.

"Oh hey Cagalli," the new student smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Cagalli asked. "You're a month early."

_**Flashback**_

_The phone rang and Cagalli picked up the phone._

"_Hello?" Cagalli said._

"_Hey Cags! Guess what?" the other person said excitedly._

"_Shinn! It's you! What's up?" Cagalli smiled._

"_I'll be transferring to Archangel Academy!" Shinn said._

"_REALLY! Oh my gosh! When are you coming?" Cagalli asked. She was so excited that she was jumping up and down on the sofa._

"_Next month!" Shinn replied._

"_Oh my gosh! I can't wait! But what made you decide to come and join us?"_

"_Well you keep telling me how wonderful Archangel Academy is and I'm curious!"_

"_That's great Shinn!" Cagalli said. "Oh I'll call you back later ok? Kira's getting angry. He's over-reacting as usual. I merely made a little mess in the kitchen and now he's yelling at me. Oh! Got to go now! Bye!"_

_And the line went dead._

"_Cagalli, how many times do I have to tell you..." Kira was almost shouting._

"_Oh guess what Kira?" Cagalli interrupted. "Shinn's coming to our school next month!"_

_**End of flashback**_

"The papers were done way earlier than expected, so I decided to come earlier and surprise you," Shinn said mischievously.

"You two know each other?" Miss Ramius asked.

The whole class suddenly perked up. They were very interested in the relationship between the star student and the new one. The boys including Athrun were wondering about their chances on dating Cagalli if the new guy really was her boyfriend. The girls on the other hand were assessing Shinn and were mentally taking notes of how cute a couple they would make.

"_Oh no! Is he her boyfriend?" Athrun thought. "Then what about my chances now? No, it can't be. She would have told me or I would have heard about it from Kira. Oh dear, I hope there's nothing going on between them!"_

"Yes, we're good friends Miss Ramius," Cagalli said happily.

"Yup!" Shinn confirmed it as he gave a playful grin to Cagalli

"_There is something SO going on between them!" the other students were saying in their heads._

"Well in that case, you two should sit together. It would make Shinn more comfortable," the teacher said. "Athrun, could you please move to the empty table behind so that Shinn could sit with Cagalli?"

"_What? Why do I have to move? This is so unfair!" Athrun was screaming inside his head. "No! Cagalli can't sit with him! I want to sit with her!"_

However, Athrun replied, "Sure Miss Ramius."

Athrun stood up and walked to the seat behind. He then eyed Shinn jealously. Shinn was walking to Athrun's former seat with glee and Cagalli was smiling right back at Shinn. To Athrun's dismay and everyone else's surprise, Cagalli stood up and gave Shinn a hug when he reached the seat.

"_I knew it! Something IS going on!" the students were thinking._

"_No Cagalli! Why? What's going on?" Athrun was having a mental breakdown. He really wanted to cry when he saw her hugging Shinn._

The hug was short and friendly, but to Athrun, it seemed like an eternity. Athrun now really disliked Shinn. The whole lesson was agonisingly long to Athrun. Every second was pure torture to him. He could not stand watching the two people sitting in front of him chatting merrily away. And Miss Ramius did not help at all. She gave the class pair work, giving Shinn and Cagalli the opportunity to talk without getting into trouble.

To make it worse, Athrun was assigned to work with Meer and her partner, Asagi, since Athrun had no partner. Meer practically ignored Asagi and only gave her attention to Athrun. Of course, Athrun just ignored her as usual and tried his best to finish the work with Asagi despite the constant flirting from Meer.

Finally, the bell rang. It was now break time.

"Hey Athrun," Cagalli said. "Do you mind meeting the others by yourself first? There is a little problem with Shinn's schedule and I'm going to take him to the office now."

_Athrun wanted to say, "Of course I mind! Don't go with him! He can go himself! Come with me!" _But of course, Athrun instead said, "Not at all."

"Great! See you later Athrun!" Cagalli waved goodbye to Athrun as she pulled Shinn out of the class.

Athrun frowned as he watched Cagalli and Shinn left. _"She forgot about the agreement to meet me after class," Athrun thought to himself. _Athrun was really disappointed, but there was nothing he could do. After packing his things, he made his way to the cafeteria alone.

"Hey Athrun! Where's Cagalli?" Lacus asked as she saw Athrun walking towards them alone. It now became a habit for Athrun and Cagalli to walk to the cafeteria together. On the few classes which Athrun and Cagalli did not have together, Athrun would walk Cagalli to her class first before he went to his own and then wait for her afterwards so that they could walk together. To people who didn't know them, they would have thought that Athrun and Cagalli were a couple. Of course, we all know that it's not true yet.

"She accompanied this new boy called Shinn to the office," Athrun replied.

"Hold on a second," Kira said. "You mean Shinn as in Shinn Asuka?"

"_The one and only," Athrun thought._ "Yea, that's him. You know him?" Athrun asked.

"He's here already? I could have sworn Cagalli told me he's coming next month. And yea, I know him. He's Cagalli's childhood friend. He really cares about her. He's actually one of the few people I trust Cagalli with," Kira replied matter-of-factly.

"_I trust Cagalli with... trust Cagalli with... trust Cagalli with..." these words kept on ringing inside Athrun's head. _Athrun really felt like breaking down. Kira had actually said that he trusted Shinn with Cagalli. If Athrun disliked Shinn before, he loathed him now. Athrun felt his heart wrenching. Kira had approved of Shinn but he did not approve of him. What are his chances of being with Cagalli now?

"Kira! Look who's with me!" Cagalli suddenly called out to her brother.

"Shinn!" Kira smiled as he dashed off to give Shinn a manly hug.

"Everyone, this is Shinn Asuka. He's my friend and we have known each other practically our whole lives!" Cagalli introduced Shinn to the gang.

Of course, everyone welcomed Shinn straight away. With the exception of Athrun that was. Everyone apart from Cagalli could tell that Athrun was shooting daggers at Shinn.

"I don't think Athrun likes me very much," Shinn whispered to Cagalli.

"Don't worry! He's always like that! He's called the ice prince after all. But he'll warm up to you soon enough," Cagalli whispered back.

The break was soon over and Cagalli walked up to Athrun. "Oh yea Athrun, you said you wanted to talk to me earlier on right?" She asked him.

"You actually remembered..." Athrun muttered.

"What? Sorry I didn't catch that," Cagalli said.

"N-nothing. It's nothing," Athrun replied.

"Huh?"

"What I meant is that it's nothing important. We don't have to meet afterwards," Athrun told Cagalli.

"Ok, if you say so," Cagalli said.

Athrun had decided that he would not confess his feelings anymore as he would only embarrass himself.

"Oh and one more thing, you're coming to our house later tonight right?" Cagalli asked Athrun.

"Yea sure. For what by the way?" Athrun asked.

"Weren't you listening earlier?" Cagalli replied rolling her eyes. "We're throwing a welcome party for Shinn."

"_What? I can't believe I just agreed to go to the welcome party of that guy! What was I thinking? Wait, I wasn't thinking. Hell, I wasn't even listening! I knew I should have paid more attention to my friends! Now I have to face him later on and put up with his crappy business!" Athrun screamed inside his head._

"Great! I'll see you later in class ok? I've got to take Shinn to his class first lest he gets lost," Cagalli said as she broke Athrun's train of thoughts. She then left the cafeteria with Shinn.

"Oh how marvellous. Now she walks him to class. What's next? Go with him to the prom?" Athrun mumbled to himself. He thought no one heard him. However, he was wrong.

"Most probably unless you ask her first Zala," his platinum blonde haired friend said before walking off to his class. Apparently, Yzac had heard his mumbles.

**... ... ...**

It was now after school. Cagalli was down in the hallway where the lockers were neatly arranged. She had to retrieve some of her things to bring home. Cagalli opened the gray metal door of her locker. She looked inside and saw a piece of white paper in one of the compartments.

"Another fan mail or love letter," Cagalli sighed. "When will they stop?"

She reached for the paper and opened to see what it said. Would it be anything new? As Cagalli unfolded the paper, she frowned.

"Cagalli? What's wrong?" Athrun suddenly asked which made Cagalli jump. He was in the hallway too and had spotted Cagalli rooted to the spot.

"N-Nothing! Just another fan mail," Cagalli quickly replied as she crumpled the piece of paper and slid it inside her pocket. "Gosh Athrun! Don't do that! I nearly had a heart attack!"

"Do what?" Athrun asked innocently.

"Suddenly appearing out of nowhere and scaring me!" Cagalli exclaimed.

"Sorry for scaring you, but I didn't appear out of nowhere. I was right beside you for quite a while now. You were spacing out and didn't notice me." Athrun told her.

"Have you seen Kira?" Cagalli asked Athrun changing the topic.

"Have you forgotten? I thought you told him to buy some groceries right after school for the party tonight," Athrun replied.

"Right... Must be getting senile..." Cagalli said. "Have you seen Shinn then?" she asked somewhat desperately.

"Is something the matter?" Athrun was getting worried after hearing the tone of Cagalli. "_Why is she in a hurry to find Kira or Shinn? Could it be something to do with the fan mail? But why can't she tell me instead?" Athrun thought as his face fell. _

"There he is!" Cagalli suddenly said. "Gotta go! See you later at my house tonight ok Athrun! Bye!" With that, Cagalli dashed off. She didn't even answer Athrun's question.

Athrun just stood rooted to the spot and stared until he could not see Cagalli anymore. It really pained him as he knew that Cagalli was keeping something from him. The worst part was that Cagalli was probably going to tell Shinn.

**... ... ...**

"Shinn!" Cagalli called out as she ran to the entrance of the north block.

Immediately upon hearing her voice, the jet black haired boy stopped and turned around.

Shinn had known Cagalli for years and he could tell straight away that something was bothering her. "Cagalli what's wrong?" Shinn asked worried.

"It's this," she replied as she handed the crushed piece of paper to Shinn.

Shinn furrowed his brows. "Are you sure it's addressed to you? I thought you're the most popular girl in school?" Shinn said.

"Well I guess you thought wrong Shinn," Cagalli replied.

"It's alright Cagalli. Don't worry. I'm sure it's just some crazy bitch who's jealous of you," Shinn assured Cagalli. He then pulled her into a tight embrace.

Ten metres away, Athrun hid in the shadows as he watched Shinn hugging Cagall. Unable to watch any longer, Athrun walked away heart broken.

"Yea I know. But we have to tell Kira first," Cagalli told Shinn as she pulled away from him.

"Of course!" Shinn replied. "He gets angry every time we keep something from him even if it's as trivial as hiding the Swiss truffles."

"Swiss truffles are not trivial you know! I'll get angry too if he hides them from me," Cagalli said. "Anyway, he's at the grocery store now. Let's just wait for him at home."

**An hour and a half later...**

Cagalli and Shinn were watching television while waiting for Kira to come home. Suddenly, the front door opened.

"Cagalli! I'm home!" Kira called out as he stumbled into the living room with bags of groceries.

"Finally! Kira, I need to tell you..." Cagalli immediately stopped talking as she saw Lacus trailing behind. "That you are very late and you will hear it from me later."

"Oh don't blame Kira!" Lacus said. "It's my fault really. I couldn't decide on the serviettes. I was debating on the floral print or the bunny print."

"_Phew! Thank goodness she believed it!" Cagalli thought to herself. _"Oh so umm, which one did you get in the end?" Cagalli asked Lacus. Frankly, Cagalli couldn't care less on which napkin to get but right now she needed to act interested.

"I bought a plain pink colour one instead!" Lacus said happily.

"Figures..." Cagalli muttered soft enough that no one heard.

"Come on Kira and Cagalli! We have to get ready! The others are coming soon!" Lacus said as she ushered the twins into the kitchen. "Shinn, make yourself comfortable ok? We're going to fix dinner. This party is for you so just relax ok?"

Half an hour later, almost everything was ready. Cagalli did not have a chance to talk to Kira at all as Lacus was always there. Just then the door bell rang and the rest of the gang arrived.

"WHY IS EVERY FREAKING THING PINK?" Yzac yelled. The plastic cutleries, cups, plates and the serviettes were pink, even the table cloth was pink. Everything was pink.

"Good thing the food's not," Dearka joked. "But what can you expect when Lacus plans it?"

"Oh, wait till you see the cake guys! It's pink too! I bought it to match everything!" Lacus said with glee.

"Oh how nice!" Yzac said sarcastically which earned him a whack on the head from Shiho. "Ouch! What was that for woman?" he shouted.

"You were being rude!" Shiho yelled back.

**... ... ...**

The party was a success. The food was scrumptious. Even the pink cake was delicious. Almost everyone had enjoyed themselves. The exception was of course Athrun. The afternoon scene of Shinn hugging Cagalli kept on replaying in his head. Athrun felt really miserable every time he saw Shinn and Cagalli together. Yes, he was jealous. Truth be told, Athrun wanted to be Shinn, Athrun wanted to be the one to hug Cagalli and comfort her.

The gang had played charades. Lacus was the game master; she didn't play but facilitated the game instead. Cagalli was paired with Kira, Dearka with Mir, and Yzac with Shiho. That left Shinn and Athrun to be the last pair. Athrun wasn't really happy at first. He wanted to be paired with Cagalli but he eventually comforted himself on the fact that Cagalli and Shinn weren't paired up.

"Yes! Cagalli we won!" Kira said happily as he gave a high-five to his twin.

"I know! Can you believe it? The other teams didn't even come close!" Cagalli was jumping with joy. Kira and Cagalli won the game by a landslide.

"This is your entire fault woman!" Yzac shouted. Yzac and Shiho came in last place with a pathetic three guesses right.

"How is it my fault when you are the one who cannot act properly?" Shiho yelled back.

"My acting is perfectly fine! You're the one with the problem woman!" Yzac retorted.

"We make a pretty good team don't you think Athrun?" Shinn said. "We were only behind Dearka and Mir by one guess."

"Yea, I guess." That was all Athrun could say. Even though he managed to work well with Shinn throughout the game, he was still not too fond of Shinn.

**... ... ...**

"Aren't you going home too?" Athrun questioned Shinn. Mir, Shiho, Lacus, Dearka and Yzac had already left. Athrun and Shinn were the only ones left.

"Yea, in just a few minutes. I have something personal to tell Kira first," Shinn replied.

Raising an eye brow, Athrun said, "Is that so? Well then I'll make a move first. See you guys tomorrow." Athrun now felt more miserable than ever. His best friend, the girl he likes and the boy he hates are keeping a secret and Athrun was not included.

After the front door closed, Kira finally spoke, "What was that about?"

"Kira, I think you should see this first," Cagalli said as she handed the crumpled paper to Kira.

Kira looked at Shinn and Cagalli puzzled. He could feel something was going on. As Kira unfolded the paper to read its contents, he frowned, unable to believe what he just read.

**To be continued...**

**I hope some parts are not confusing, especially some of the speeches where there are many different people talking. Is Shinn a little too OOC? But I guess he has to be this way for this story to work.**

**School is starting soon. Meaning I won't be able to update regularly when the work starts rolling in. But no worries for now, I should be able to add in a chapter or two after this one. I doubt they'll give us that much work on the first week of school.**

**To those who actually read my ramblings and stuff, thank you! And lastly, please review and have a happy new year!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you so much for your reviews! I really love you all for your support! School is starting tomorrow. Hopefully this will tide you until my next update.**

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Aihsire Atha, Alice, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, patzie24, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, Sawagi-chan, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

… … …

Chapter 12

"_Kira, I think you should see this first," Cagalli said as she handed the crumpled paper to Kira._

_Kira looked at Shinn and Cagalli puzzled. He could feel something was going on. As Kira unfolded the paper to read its contents, he frowned, unable to believe what he just read._

"Huh?" that was Kira's response.

"It's a hate mail," Cagalli stated.

"I know what it is!" Kira quickly said. "But why? I thought..."

"WELL YOU THOUGHT WRONG KIRA!" Cagalli yelled. As much as Cagalli hated her popularity (she found it annoying), she also hated to be disliked. Nobody liked to be disliked.

"Kira, I think you should just hold that thought," Shinn laughed.

Smacking her brother and friend on the head, Cagalli said, "Yea, laugh all you want. You're not the target anyway."

"I wasn't the one laughing! Why are you hitting me?" Kira pouted childishly as he rubbed the spot on his head Cagalli had wacked.

"Because I feel like it," Cagalli retorted.

Cagalli then snatched the paper from Kira, taking a last look at it.

_**I hate you. Leave.**_

That was what the note said. Crushing the note back into a ball, Cagalli threw it into the bin. She was not going to give a damn about it anymore; it was just a minor hate mail. She was worried about it all day and look where it led her. Technically, it didn't lead her anywhere but it was still a waste of time and energy to worry about such a trivial thing.

**At the Zala mansion...**

Athrun returned home immediately that night. He needed a distraction to calm his nerves, or something that he could vent his feelings on. He took out his violin and walked in to his bedroom balcony.

He started playing. It was a slow and mournful tune that came from his very heart. In his song, he poured out everything: his passion, his love, his anger and resentment, his jealousy, and lastly his loneliness.

Athrun Zala was a lonely boy. He had lost his mother when he was six. And his father was never around; always busy working. Athrun had no siblings and very few friends. It was Cagalli who pulled him out of his misery and loneliness. She gave him the reason to smile again and make his life worth living.

Honestly, Athrun couldn't understand why he was bitter. He should be happy for Cagalli. He wanted to, but couldn't. The only thing Athrun thought he could do now was to stay away from Cagalli. If he couldn't give her his blessings, the least he could do was to not stand in her way of happiness.

**... ... ...**

It had been a few days since Cagalli received the note. She was now feeling more depressed than ever. It was not because of the hate mail. No. The one troubling her now was Athrun.

Athrun was becoming distant lately and she didn't know why. Athrun was no longer talking as much as he used to to Cagalli. For a boy with few words to begin with, he was now more or less a mute. And he no longer walked Cagalli to class or wait for her afterwards. Athrun didn't even join the gang in the cafeteria anymore. He would claim that he needed to go to the school library instead to catch up with his studies.

Cagalli knew that Athrun was avoiding her on purpose. She knew that but she did not have the courage to confront him about it. Instead, she continued moping about.

Cagalli was now on her way to the cafeteria. It was break time. She and Athrun went separate ways- Athrun to the library and she to the cafeteria. Break times used to be her favourite. With Athrun no longer joining her and the rest of the gang in the cafeteria, break time wasn't as fun anymore. Cagalli was now very eager for classes; she looked forward to all the classes she shared with him. Even though they won't talk much, Cagalli felt it was better than not seeing Athrun at all.

"Good morning my darling!" Yuna greeted her as he suddenly pooped out of nowhere and blocked her way.

"Bug off Yuna, I have no time to entertain you," Cagalli said monotonously.

"Oh don't be like this darling! I'll only take a second!" Yuna grinned.

"Fine, one," Cagalli said, literally counting one second.

"Oh I meant ten! Ten seconds!" Yuna said.

Rolling her eyes, Cagalli continued to count, "Two."

"Hey! You should start again from one!" Yuna protested.

"Three," Cagalli replied.

"Oh ok! Fine!" Yuna started to panic; he was running out of time. "Would you go with me to the Summer Dance?" Yuna quickly asked.

Cagalli stopped counting and stared incredulously at Yuna as if he was the biggest fool (which he was) in the world. "What?" Cagalli said.

"Would you go to the Summer Dance with me?" Yuna asked again.

"No," Cagalli replied.

"But why?" Yuna asked shocked.

"It's girl's choice. But of course, your pea size brain cannot comprehend that, so let me break it down for you," Cagalli spoke as if she was talking to a retard. "It means girls ask the guys to the dance. Not the other way round."

"So?" Yuna asked stupidly.

Sighing, Cagalli replied, "You don't ask a girl to go with you. You wait for her to ask you."

"Oh! I get it!" Yuna exclaimed happily. "Ok darling! Ask me! I'm ready to say yes anytime!"

"No," Cagalli said flatly.

"What? What now?" Yuna said.

"I don't want to go with you, so I'm not asking you." With that, Cagalli shoved Yuna aside and marched off to the cafeteria.

Yuna was about to give chase when someone stopped him.

"Follow her and I'll break your bones," Shinn threatened. Shinn looked absolutely frightening that Yuna gulped and ran away in the other direction.

"Cagalli! What took you so long?" Kira asked when Cagalli reached the table.

"Yuna was annoying me as usual," Cagalli replied.

"What? Where is he?" Kira was getting mad.

"It's alright Kira," Shinn walked in and said. "I've already taken care of him. That sissy is such a loser."

"And a retard too! He just doesn't understand when people tell him to back off. Seriously, if I lose a strand of hair every time I threaten and beat the crap out of him, I would have been bold by now," Kira added.

"So Cagalli," Lacus started. "Who are you taking to the Summer Dance?"

Cagalli shrugged. "I don't think I'm going at all."

"What? Why not?" Lacus and Mir asked together in alarm.

Everyone looked at Cagalli and expected the reason to be because of Athrun. It was partly true, but Cagalli was not going to admit it of course.

"It's not my thing," Cagalli replied.

"But that's not a good excuse!" Shiho exclaimed. "It's not my thing either but I'm still going with him!" Shiho pointed Yzac.

"Hey woman! I'm only going with you because you asked me. I just wanted to save your face!" Yzac said.

"Oh please! Who's saving whose face? I only asked you because I know no one else in the right mind would ask you!" Shiho retorted. "I was saving you from the humiliation of not getting asked at all!"

"Ok break it off you two!" Mir cut in. "Anymore of this and you two might just decide not to go altogether. And when this happens, I'm going to kill Dearka!"

"Hey! Why am I being dragged into this all of a sudden?" Dearka wailed.

**Later on in the evening...**

Cagalli was lying lazily on the couch watching television. The twins had just finished eating dinner and Kira was doing the dishes by himself in the kitchen. Cagalli was practically banned from doing any chores because that would basically mean more work for Kira considering how undomesticated Cagalli was.

"Click. Click. Click." That was the sound when Cagalli was flipping through three hundred over channels. After deciding that there was nothing nice on television, Cagalli trudged up the stairs and went into her room. It was only eight thirty in the evening but Cagalli decided to retire for the night.

Cagalli was lying in bed when Koneko snuggled up beside her. Koneko would always sleep with Cagalli. In the beginning, Cagalli found it weird to have something hard and cold snuggling up beside her. But after a while, Cagalli got used to it.

"Knock knock." There was a sudden knock on Cagalli's door. Instantly, Koneko jumped out of bed and started talking.

"It's Kira! It's Kira!" Koneko said in its mechanical voice. Koneko was able to detect Kira's presence.

"Yup, sis it's me," Kira said as he opened the door.

"Hello! Good evening! Good evening Kira!" Koneko greeted.

"Hello Koneko, why don't you go out and chase after Tori for a while," Kira suggested.

After watching the yellowish golden mechanical kitten run out of the room, Cagalli spoke, "I thought you're afraid of Koneko eating your Tori up!"

"Nah, I'm sure Athrun programmed Koneko in a way that it won't eat Tori," Kira replied.

At first, Cagalli flinched when she heard Kira saying Athrun's name. She has been a bit jumpy lately when it came to Athrun. But she recovered in a short while and retorted, "But that's not what you told me the last time."

"Yea I know, but listen," Kira said. "I need to talk to you."

"Aren't we talking now?" Cagalli said cheekily.

"I mean seriously," Kira's tone was grave. It was as if someone died.

"Yea sure," Cagalli replied as she moved over to the side of her queen size bed to make way for Kira to sit on the side.

"I know I've been a little protective of you..." Kira started.

Cagalli wanted to say that 'over' was a better word but she knew times like that was not meant for her little remarks.

Kira continued, "I want you to be happy. I want to protect you. You're my only sister. You're my twin. My life will be incomplete without you."

Cagalli remained quiet and merely listened to her brother speak.

"So to cut to the point, I want you to go to the dance. Ask Athrun to go with you. Don't worry. I won't harass him unless he really crosses the line. But then again, he's really a gentleman so he won't do it. Though it doesn't appear to the other girls, he really is one when it comes to someone he cares about. And Cagalli, I know he cares for you a great deal."

"But Kira," Cagalli finally said. "The dance is not..."

"I know it's not your cup of tea," Kira interrupted. "If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for me. We're twins. We do everything together. We see the dentist together, we go to the dance together and have double dates and yes, this is partly so that I can keep an eye on you. You were not in this school for the last dance and now that you are, I really like you to come for this one. I know I sound so cheesy and mushy and stuff, but I mean it. Hell, I even want to have a double wedding with you! There I said it! I'm officially the..."

"Best brother in the world," Cagalli finished the sentence before jumping on Kira to give him a hug. But of course, being Cagalli, she just had to ruin the moment by giving a remark. "You do know that being all sentimental and stuff is supposed to be the girl's job right?"

"Well someone has to take on that role since you won't do it," Kira replied.

After a while, Kira spoke again, "So what do you say? Are you going to ask him?"

"Well yea, I suppose so..." Cagalli said. "Kira?"

"Yes sis?" Kira replied gently.

"Do you think I like-like Athrun?" Cagalli asked out-of-the-blue.

"What?" Kira was caught by surprise.

"Well, there are many other boys in school. But you seem so sure that I would only ask Athrun," Cagalli replied.

"Well how do _you _feel about him?" Kira asked Cagalli.

"I don't know," Cagalli said, looking confused and sad at the same time. "I..." Cagalli breathed in deep. "I feel safe around him. When he smiles, I feel really warm and fuzzy all over. But when he ignores me, I feel terrible. I am really miserable these past few days. Athrun seem to be avoiding me on purpose. I can be wrong; it's just what I think."

Kira nodded as if he understood everything, which of course he did. Prodding Cagalli to continue, he said, "Go on..."

"And..." Cagalli took a deep breath again. "I didn't regret kissing him at all during the festival," Cagalli confessed turning into a bright crimson.

Now it was Kira's turn to take a deep breath. "I don't think you like-like him." Kira said. "I know you do."

**The next day...**

It was history class with Mr La Flaga and it was one of the few lessons Cagalli did not have with Athrun. Mr La Flaga was talking on and on about world war two. Or that was what Cagalli thought because she was not listening to a word the teacher was saying. Instead, she was pondering about the conversation she had with Kira the night before. She had asked Kira right before he tucked her into bed if Athrun would go with her to the dance. Kira said yes, but Cagalli was still sceptical. The dance was just a few days away and some girl had probably beaten her to it and asked Athrun first.

"Oh my gosh! Look at the window! Meer and Athrun are making out!" Miriallia suddenly shouted.

"What?" Cagalli suddenly snapped out of her thoughts and looked out the window. "Where? I can't see them!"

"Calm down! I was just joking!" Mir told her anxious friend.

Cagalli suddenly glared at her friend. "That was not funny you know," Cagalli said clearly annoyed.

"Sorry but class ended five minutes ago. You and I are the only ones left. You were spacing out again. What's up with you? Is it because of Zala?" Mir asked.

"What? Now that's just ridiculous!" Cagalli nearly shouted.

Looking at Cagalli's red face, Mir knew immediately it was false. "Don't lie to me! I know you were thinking about him. And what's with the big reaction earlier when I joked about Meer and Athrun making out?" Mir questioned Cagalli.

"T-That was... umm... that was..." Cagalli stuttered.

"Well?" Mir prodded.

Cagalli knew that the Mir would find out the truth sooner or later. So, she decided to come clean. "I'm going to ask Athrun to the dance," Cagalli said in one breath.

"Really? That's great! Oh my gosh thank goodness! I'm glad some sense finally went through that thick skull of yours!" Mir shrieked in delight.

**... ... ...**

"Cagalli! What happened? What took you so long?" Mir asked in alarm.

When Cagalli made her way alone to the table, she was horribly depressed; her eyes were all red and puffy. The gang wondered where Athrun was. Something must have gone horribly wrong. Athrun would have arrived with Cagalli had things worked out between them.

"I was too late," Cagalli said quietly.

_Flashback:_

_Cagalli was in the library searching for Athrun. After the long conversation she had with Kira the night before and Mir's prep talk minutes ago, Cagalli decided that she was not going to waste anymore time and just ask Athrun to the dance already._

_Suddenly, she spotted him. Athrun was at the most secluded side of the library. Cagalli was about to walk over to him when she noticed that he was not alone. Someone else was there._

"_Really? That's great! I'm so glad you agreed Athrun!" Meer squealed in delight._

"_Ok, so keep it down now would you? We're in the library for goodness sake," Athrun said annoyed._

"_Sorry! I was just so excited and happy! I'll go now. See you at the dance! Bye!" Meer said less loudly this time. She then walked over to where Cagalli was standing very still, clearly in the state of shock._

"_You're too late Hibiki. Athrun's finally agreed to go with me to the dance," Meer hissed. "By the way, I hope you can keep this to yourself. As much as I love the attention, I know Athrun does not." Meer then walked off smirking._

_Cagalli stared at Athrun's back. She was devastated. She could not believe what just happened. She was too late. Athrun was going with Meer to the dance. Not her. A tear rolled down Cagalli's face. She was glad that Athrun's back was turned to her so that he would not see her pathetic state._

_She tried to stop crying, but her tears won't stop flowing. She was hurting so badly. She had never experienced that kind of pain before, it was different. Cagalli put a hand over her chest, it was tightening. Unable to take it any longer, Cagalli ran away._

_She wasn't thinking where she was going. She just let her legs take over. She soon found herself back there again. The old abandoned music room in the west block. The place had fond memories of her and Athrun. They had served their first ever detention there. Cagalli's mind was wondering off to Athrun again. Sitting at the corner of the room, Cagalli pulled her knees to her chest and buried her head in. She remained in that position for a quiet a while, crying._

_End of flashback_

"Oh Cagalli..." Kira stood up and gave his sister a hug. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you too hard."

"It's not your fault Kira," Cagalli said. "I guess it's just not meant to be..."

**To be continued...**

**I really have no idea when I'm going to update next. I'm so sorry! But I will try my best to keep it regular. And don't worry because I will finish this story no matter how long it takes. I will not leave it hanging because I get irritated too when I read a story that will forever be incomplete.**

**And please review! Thank you in advance! **


	13. Chapter 13

**URGENT. VERY IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ.**

**There is an online petition to reunite ASUCAGA! The link is on my profile. To those who haven't heard about it yet, please sign it! Thank you!**

**Thanks for the reviews! I can't believe it hit a hundred! So of course I went home straight to write. Homework can wait till tomorrow since it's going to be the weekend! Enjoy!**

**... ... ...**

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Aihsire Atha, Alice, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, patzie24, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, Sawagi-chan, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, yuki001,**

**And last but not least, trulyanimelover06 for your help and ideas.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

… … …

_Previously..._

"_Really? That's great! I'm so glad you agreed Athrun!" Meer squealed in delight._

"_Ok, so keep it down now would you? We're in the library for goodness sake," Athrun said annoyed._

"_Sorry! I was just so excited and happy! I'll go now. See you at the dance! Bye!" Meer said less loudly this time. She then walked over to where Cagalli was standing very still, clearly in the state of shock._

"_You're too late Hibiki. Athrun's finally agreed to go with me to the dance," Meer hissed. "By the way, I hope you can keep this to yourself. As much as I love the attention, I know Athrun does not." Meer then walked off smirking._

_**... ... ...**_

"_Oh Cagalli..." Kira stood up and gave his sister a hug. "This is my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you too hard."_

"_It's not your fault Kira," Cagalli said. "I guess it's just not meant to be..."_

_**... ... ...**_

Chapter 13

Cagalli sat on one of the window sills. She pulled her knees to her chest as she wrapped her arms around her legs. She watched the rain fall from her bedroom window. It was quite unusual for it to rain at that time of the season.

Today was the summer dance and Cagalli was not attending. She could not bear to see Athrun dancing around with Meer. No. She was not strong enough.

Just then, Kira knocked on the door and entered.

"Hey sis, what would you like for dinner?" Kira asked.

Cagalli turned to her brother and noticed that he was wearing a plain white shirt and kaki shorts. "Kira, don't you have any idea what time it is? The dance has started and you're not even dressed yet." Cagalli chided.

Kira grinned, "Well that's because I'm not going sis."

"What?" Cagalli said in alarm. "Then what about Lacus?"

"Don't worry. Lacus doesn't mind. In fact, she went to attend some dinner with her father." Kira replied.

"You don't have to do this you know..." Cagalli said quietly. "You should have gone and have a great time with the rest."

"I know," Kira replied gently. "But I want to do this. There is no way I'm leaving you alone here. Besides, what makes you think I can have fun without you around?"

Cagalli was really touched. She really did have the best brother in the world. Turning to window again, Cagalli asked Kira, "I'm weak and pathetic aren't I?"

"Don't say that!" Kira suddenly got mad. "Don't you dare say that because you are not!"

"Then w-why am I like this?" Cagalli was in the brink of tears.

"Because you are only human..." Kira replied gently this time. Walking over to the window where Cagalli was, he wrapped his arm around Cagalli and hugged her. "We are only human..." he said.

Suddenly, the phone rang, interrupting the brother-sister moment.

It was Kira who picked up the phone. "Hello?" Kira answered.

"Kira?" Miriallia spoke. She sounded urgent. "Where's Cagalli? I have to talk to her! NOW!"

"What? Is everything alright? What happened?" Kira asked in alarm.

"Just put her on the phone Kira," Miriallia commanded. "You can put it on loud speaker too if you want."

**Meanwhile, at the Zala mansion...**

Ding dong! The bell rang. It was Alfred, the old butler who answered the door.

"I need to speak to Athrun Zala. Is he still at home?"

Alfred was about to call for his young master when Athrun walked up behind him.

"Alfred, who's there?" Athrun asked.

"It's me," the visitor replied.

Athrun stared in shock. A drenched Shinn was at his door way. It was pouring heavily. _"What's HE doing here? Shouldn't HE be at the dance with Cagalli?" Athrun thought._

"I see you're not dressed yet," Shinn said coldly.

"That's because I'm not going," Athrun replied equally as cold. He then motioned Alfred to leave him and Shinn alone.

"What's the matter? Getting cold feet?" Shinn taunted.

"_What the hell does he want? He's already going with Cagalli. Does he want me to watch too?" Athrun thought._

"If you're here just to pick a fight with me, I want you to leave now and get off my property," Athrun replied.

"Why you bastard!" Shinn shouted as he lunged forward. He had just enough of Athrun's heck-care attitude.

With Athrun's quick reflexes, he managed to dodge Shinn's punch. Finally, using Shinn's strength against him, Athrun grabbed hold of Shinn's flying arm and twisted it to Shinn's back, making Shinn curse and swear profanities in pain.

"You son of a bitch!" Shinn yelled in agony. "Do you have any idea what you have done to Cagalli?"

When he heard Cagalli's name, Athrun quickly let go of Shinn but kept a distant just in case Shinn attacked again.

"My whole life, I have never seen Cagalli cry. When we were eight, she fell down the stairs and had eleven stitches. Even then she did not shed a tear no matter how painful it was. It was me and Kira who cried for her!" Shinn was so agitated and emotional. "But thanks to you, she cried real hard. It's the first time I saw her like this. You made her miserable!" Shinn accused.

**At Cagalli's and Kira's house...**

Cagalli and Kira found out the truth from Miriallia and the gang.

_Flashback:_

_Meer Campbell was eavesdropping on Miriallia's and Cagalli's conversation. Meer found out that Cagalli was going to ask Athrun to the dance that very break._

"_I have to do something!" Meer thought. She knew that Athrun wouldn't reject Cagalli. So she had to beat Cagalli to the library for her plan to evil work._

"_Athrun! There you are!" Meer had a sigh of relief when she got to Athrun first._

_As usual, Athrun ignored her._

"_Don't worry. I'm not here to ask you to the dance again. There is only so much rejection a girl can take. My pride can't take it anymore," Meer told Athrun._

"_Wow, you have a pride? That's something new," Athrun said sarcastically._

"_That's not a very nice thing to say you know..." Meer said flirtatiously._

"_Just cut to the point Meer. You are wasting my time," Athrun was getting annoyed._

"_Oh right. Well I have to ask you since you're the captain and all," Meer said referring to the baseball team, "I was wondering if I could take a one week break. Being the team manager is actually quite a tedious..."_

"_Do whatever you want," Athrun cut off. He couldn't believe that Meer looked for him for something so trivial._

"_**Really? That's great! I'm so glad you agreed Athrun!" Meer squealed in delight.**_

"_**Ok, so keep it down now would you? We're in the library for goodness sake," Athrun said annoyed.**_

"_**Sorry! I was just so excited and happy! I'll go now. See you at the dance! Bye!" Meer said less loudly this time. She then walked over to where Cagalli was standing very still, clearly in the state of shock.**_

"_**You're too late Hibiki. Athrun's finally agreed to go with me to the dance," Meer hissed. "By the way, I hope you can keep this to yourself. As much as I love the attention, I know Athrun does not." Meer then walked off smirking.**_

_End of flashback._

"I can't believe it Kira!" Cagalli said exasperated. "How can I be so stupid?" Meer had tricked her and Cagalli fell for it like a retard.

"It's alright you know. We all do stupid things once in a while," Kira tried to comfort his agitated sister.

"But if you look on the bright side Cags, Athrun never agreed to go with her..." Mir said over the loud speaker.

"But how did you guys manage to get Meer to confess?" Kira asked curious.

"You should be glad that you weren't there Kira!" It was now Dearka who was on loud speaker. "Mir and Shiho were absolutely terrifying!"

Kira and Cagalli heard the tremor in Dearka's voice.

Dearka continued, "They trapped the poor girl in the girl's toilet and terrorised her! They threatened to pluck all her hair and make her bold! You should have seen the poor girl's face!"

"You sound as if you were with them in the girls' toilet," Kira said.

"He was there alright," Mir took over the phone. "That useless pervert did not help us at all. He only went into the toilet to see if there were other girls inside."

"Hold on!" Kira said worried. "Where's Cagalli?"

"What do you mean 'where's Cagalli'? Isn't she beside you?" Mir asked.

Kira's eyes turned towards the window. He saw a flash of blonde running across the road. "Damn it!" Kira said.

"What's the matter Kira?" Miriallia panicked.

"Cagalli ran off. Probably going to Athrun's. She just ran out in the rain without an umbrella. She's gonna catch a cold! I've got to get her! Talk to you later ok? I have to make sure my sister's alright," Kira said as he hung up and ran after Cagalli with an umbrella.

**... ... ...**

Cagalli ran and ran. She knew what she had to do now. She had to make everything right with her and Athrun again. Being the impulsive, rash and impatient girl that she was, Cagalli didn't bother waiting for the rain to stop. She didn't even bother to take the umbrella with her. Her mind only thought of one thing, or one person, Athrun.

Suddenly, she stopped. She had no idea where she was running to. She didn't know where Athrun lived. All this time it was he who came to her house. Cagalli looked around lost. She was now in Maple Street. That was what the sign in front of her said.

As she was about to turn back home, Cagalli heard a screech. It was the sound of a car breaking.

"BANG!"

That sound came right after and Cagalli looked towards the road. A van skidded and rammed against a taxi. But the vehicles didn't moving stop upon collision. They were now heading towards her out of control. Cagalli wanted to run but her legs turned wobbly, she just stood at the pedestrian path unable to move.

"Cagalli!" Kira shouted. He saw what was happening and he ran in a speed that could break the world record to save his sister.

It happened too fast for Cagalli's mind to react. She thought she was going to be hit by the vehicles, but she found herself being pulled away and the next thing she knew, Cagalli landed on a soft patch of grass.

"Cagalli!" She heard the voice of her brother. She turned to her right and saw that her brother looking very pale beside her.

Then she heard another voice. It was barely over a whisper but Cagalli heard it loud and clear. She had missed that familiar voice. It was he who had saved her!

"Cagalli," he said.

Amber meets emerald.

Cagalli then found herself in the embrace of a strong pair of arms. Though he was equally as wet as her, Cagalli found comfort and warmth in his arms.

"I'm so sorry," she heard him sob. It surprised her. Cagalli didn't really expect the ice prince to act like that. "Shinn told me everything," Athrun continued. "I'm such a fool..."

"That makes two of us," Cagalli smiled at Athrun.

Athrun then reached out to touch Cagalli's face, hesitantly at first. Athrun started by tracing her jaw lines with his knuckles. Once he was sure Cagalli was not going to move away from his touch, he got serious and caressed the side of her cheek. Athrun inched his face closer to hers and Cagalli closed her eyes preparing for what was to come. His lips was about to meet hers when he abruptly stopped.

Sensing something, Cagalli opened her eyes and stared at Athrun in confusion.

"May I kiss you?" Athrun asked. He wanted her consent first.

Cagalli's frown immediately turned into a smile. She threw her hands around his neck as she pressed her lips onto him. "You don't have to ask," Cagalli replied.

Athrun smiled tenderly back at Cagalli. "Does that mean you're my girlfriend now?" asked Athrun.

"It depends," Cagalli teased. "Is that how you're proposing?"

Looking Cagalli in the eye, Athrun asked seriously, "Will you be my girlfriend Cagalli?"

Cagalli laughed. "Yes! Yes of course!"

Cupping Cagalli's face, Athrun bent down and his lips brushed against hers.

The two were oblivious to the annoyed Kira who stood by watching. He was about to protest and make a fuss when a hand clamped over his mouth. The next thing he knew, he was dragged off to the bushes.

"Kira, I'm swear I'm going to murder you in cold blood if you ruin this perfect moment for them," Lacus threatened, the sweet, angelic and gentle girl Kira knew was suddenly replaced by a frightening one.

"Mfft!" Kira tried to talk but couldn't because Lacus's hand was clamped over his mouth.

"Shh! Quiet!" Shinn tried to hush Kira down. "They might hear you!"

Kira was still struggling. He couldn't believe that Lacus and Shinn had ganged up on him.

**... ... ...**

Athrun and Cagalli came back to Cagalli's house. Both teens were drenched because they were out in the heavy rain. Athrun had to borrow clothes from Kira though the lad was not at home. They had found a note saying that Kira went off to Lacus's house.

"Food will arrive in half an hour," Cagalli said as she joined Athrun in the living room. She had ordered Chinese delivery.

Athrun was admiring the large framed jigsaw picture of her and Kira which hung on the wall above the marble fireplace.

"That was two years ago," Cagalli told Athrun. "We took three weeks to complete it."

"I want to do something like this too..." Athrun mumbled to himself but Cagalli heard it.

"I know what we can do now!" Cagalli exclaimed. Before Athrun could say anything, Cagalli ran up the stairs.

BOOM! CRASH! BANG!

That was what Athrun heard while he waited for Cagalli downstairs in the living room. He was about to run up to see if Cagalli was ok, but she came down unharmed right after with a large rectangular brown box.

"Here we are!" Cagalli smiled as she placed the box on the coffee table and emptied out its contents.

"A jigsaw puzzle?" Athrun verified.

"Yup but its no ordinary one," she replied as she handed a piece of paper to Athrun.

It was a picture of the gang taken during Kira's and Cagalli's birthday.

"Kira and I had it made into a jigsaw puzzle. We're supposed to do it together but we can start off without him." Cagalli said. "It's just too bad that Shinn's not inside."

Athrun was smiling and jumping with joy inside when he noticed that Shinn wasn't in the picture. Even though the misunderstanding had been cleared up, Athrun was still not too fond of Shinn even though he had to thank Shinn for clearing everything up. Yes, Athrun Zala was quite a petty boy.

"How many pieces is it?" Athrun asked.

"Oh it's just five hundred," Cagalli replied matter-of-factly.

Soon, the two started to work on the jigsaw puzzle.

"This one is supposed to go here," Athrun said trying to fit the puzzle piece in.

"No, this one goes there," Cagalli argued replacing the puzzle piece of Athrun. "See?" Cagalli said happily as the one she had chosen fitted perfectly. "Kira and I do this together all the time since we were young. We can practically see a mile away where the pieces go."

"Fine, I admit defeat," Athrun laughed.

**... ... ...**

It was now the following day and news sure spread fast. The whole school knew that Athrun and Cagalli were now together.

"Athrun is one lucky bastard," the couple heard a boy say when they were on their way to the cafeteria.

"I think they make a cute couple!" a girl squealed.

"But I think I'll make a better couple with Cagalli," said another boy.

"I can't believe it! We're now the talk of the school!" Cagalli complained to Athrun.

"Well, what do you expect? The most popular girl is dating me," Athrun laughed.

"Then what do you call yourself? In case you haven't noticed, you are one popular guy too. Just look at all the death glares those bimbos are sending me!" Cagalli said.

"But if you look on the bright side, we might stand a chance to be prom king and queen," Athrun smiled.

"Great, all the _royal_ treatment," Cagalli said sarcastically.

The couple finally made their way to the cafeteria where their friends were waiting.

"Say Kira, I just realised something," Dearka said. "You two have different surnames. You're a Yamato and Cagalli's a Hibiki."

"Weren't you listening you twit!" Yzac said. "They already told us before that they were both adopted!"

"Wow, I didn't you actually listened too Yzac," Shiho said.

"Shut up woman!" Yzac replied.

"Oh I almost forgot!" Cagalli suddenly stood up. "I left your book in my locker, Lacus."

"It's alright Cagalli, I'm in no hurry to get it back," Lacus replied.

"No I'll get it now, it won't take much time anyway," Cagalli said as she began to walk off.

"I'm coming with you!" Athrun called out as he rushed after Cagalli.

As Cagalli opened her locker, she noticed another piece of paper. Cagalli frowned. _"Is this another hate mail?" she thought._

Unfolding the paper, Cagalli read its contents. It said:

_**I thought I told you to leave. This is my last warning. Leave now or else.**_

"Is this what bothered you last time that you had to tell Shinn and Kira?" Athrun suddenly spoke, making Cagalli jump. He read the letter too.

Cagalli sighed. She guessed that she has to tell Athrun now. "Yea..." she replied.

Athrun frowned. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," Athrun said determinedly.

**To be continued...**

**Please review! Thank you so much! I'll try to update at least once a week and the worst once in two weeks. I hope you're not bored with this story yet! Tell me if it's getting boring ok? And tell me how I can improve. I'll try my best to do it.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Thank you everyone else for your awesome reviews and thank you for your spelling check cagallifangurl! Now enjoy!**

**... ... ...**

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Aihsire Atha, Alice, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, colourfulgurl, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, patzie24, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, Sawagi-chan, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06, yuki001,**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

**... ... ...**

_Previously..._

_As Cagalli opened her locker, she noticed another piece of paper. Cagalli frowned. "Is this another hate mail?" she thought._

_Unfolding the paper, Cagalli read its contents. It said:_

_**I thought I told you to leave. This is my last warning. Leave now or else.**_

"_Is this what bothered you last time that you had to tell Shinn and Kira?" Athrun suddenly spoke, making Cagalli jump. He read the letter too._

_Cagalli sighed. She guessed that she has to tell Athrun now. "Yea..." she replied._

_Athrun frowned. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you," Athrun said determinedly._

**... ... ...**

Chapter 14

Athrun was really worried about the hate mail Cagalli received. According to her, it was the second time. But she always brushed it aside.

"Cagalli received this just now," Athrun showed the note to the rest of the gang. He thought the others should know.

"Another one?" Shinn frowned.

"And judging from what it said, it probably came from the same person," Kira said.

"You mean this is not the first?" Lacus asked worried.

"Relax guys!" Cagalli said getting annoyed. Her friends were getting worried for nothing. "For all we know it's just a prank," Cagalli continued. "There's nothing to worry about."

"Cagalli's right. But it could be from someone who is jealous of you too," Lacus said.

"You could be in danger sis," Kira said worried. "The person hasn't done anything that bad yet but it doesn't mean he or she won't. You have to be careful."

"But that person could be a 'they' too. For all we know, a few of them could have ganged up," Shiho added.

"You guys are just thinking too much! Seriously!" Cagalli said in exasperation.

**... ... ...**

It was now life skills lesson with Mr La Flaga. The students were all in the kitchen for the cooking module. They were all paired and as usual, Athrun and Cagalli were placed together.

"Cagalli, you have to separate the dry ingredients from the wet ones!" Athrun said horrified when Cagalli simply dumped all the ingredients in one bowl and started mixing. They were baking a cake today and Athrun knew that with Cagalli's 'terrific' cooking skills, he would have a hard time passing that module.

"What difference does it make? Everything is going into the oven anyway," Cagalli replied.

"Mix in one direction Cagalli," Athrun told her. "And you're doing it too fast. Here, pass that to me." Athrun snatched the bowl from and Cagalli scowled back at him.

**One hour later...**

"It doesn't taste that bad," Cagalli said taking a bite of the chocolate cake. "It's actually quite good."

"And who would you thank for that?" Athrun teased.

"Me!" Cagali replied indignantly.

"Sure thing princess," Athrun chuckled.

"Stop calling me that!" Cagalli said slightly annoyed. "And take this, it's yours. Bring it home for your mum to try. She would probably want to taste the cake that you made," Cagalli said as she handed a small box to Athrun. They had made three small cakes, one for each of them to bring home, and the last one to be graded.

"My mother, she... she died when I was six," Athrun said quietly.

"S-sorry. I didn't know..." Cagalli felt guilty.

"It's alright. I didn't tell you," Athrun assured her.

Cagalli kept quiet. She had no idea what to say to Athrun.

"So what are you doing this summer vacation? Are you going anywhere?" Athrun asked Cagalli changing the subject. Summer vacation was a few days away.

"Oh, Kira and I are going back to Orb to see our parents," Cagalli told him.

"Oh..." Athrun said disappointed, looks like he was not going to see Cagalli for a while.

**... ... ...**

Days had passed and the summer vacation had begun and Kira and Cagalli both had returned to Orb. Life without Cagalli made Athrun very lonely, he wanted the vacation to end soon so that he could see her again.

It was now dinner time and Athrun made his way to the huge dinning room which could seat over twenty people. Athrun noticed that the table for two was set up. Athrun had eaten alone most of the time ever since his mother died. His father was always busy with work and Athrun seldom saw the man.

"He's here," It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes young master," Alfred the butler replied. "But he will be leaving for Orb tomorrow."

Athrun's ears perked up the moment he heard _Orb. "Cagalli's there!" Athrun thought with glee._

Just then, Athrun heard the clearing of a throat. His father had entered the dinning room.

Dinner as usual was very quiet. Athrun and the old man never talked.

"Can I come with you to Orb?" Athrun asked quietly. It seemed to be the first conversation he had with his father for a long time. He looked at his father who was dabbing his mouth with the napkin. His father had just finished eating.

His father never replied. He merely stood up and walked towards the giant oak doors of the dinning hall. Suddenly, he stopped midway. "Be ready by seven in the morning tomorrow," his father said, his back facing Athrun.

Athrun was jumping for joy in his mind. He was going to see Cagalli. The moment his father left, Athrun immediately ran to his room and started packing. Suddenly, his phone vibrated. He had messaged Cagalli earlier on and she now replied.

_**From: Cagalli**_

_**Kira is SO annoying. Without Lacus around, all his attention is turned to me and that is not a good thing. I am SO close to strangling him. Grr...**_

Athrun chuckled. Kira was probably being over-protective again. He was now going to tell Cagalli the good news.

_**From: Athrun**_

_**Lol. What did he do this time? Anyway I have good news. I'm going to Orb tomorrow. My father has some business there and I'm coming with him.**_

At the same time in Orb...

Cagalli's eyes practically bulged out when she read the message.

_**I'm going to Orb.**_

That was what Athrun had sent her. _"Oh my gosh! He's coming here! This is not good!" Cagalli scrambled in her head._ She had to let Kira know.

_**From: Cagalli**_

_**ATHRUN'S COMING HERE TOMORROW!**_

_**From: Kira**_

_**You mean to Orb?**_

_**From: Cagalli.**_

_**No. Mars. OF COURSE ORB! WHERE DO YOU THINK WE ARE RIGHT NOW?**_

_**From: Kira**_

_**Calm down sis. What's the problem of him coming here? Isn't it good that you can see him again? I thought you miss him.**_

_**From: Cagalli**_

_**HOW IS THAT GOOD? HE IS GOING TO FIND OUT AND THEN I'M SCREWD!**_

_**From: Kira**_

_**You mean you didn't tell him?**_

_**From: Cagalli**_

_**OF COURSE NOT! YOU DIDN'T TELL LACUS EITHER!**_

_**From: Kira**_

_**I've had my reasons...**_

_**From: Cagalli**_

_**SO DID I!**_

**... ... ...**

It was the next day and Athrun and his father had arrived in Orb.

"There's a party tonight at the Orb palace. I would like you to come," his father said to him before he went into his hotel room.

"Yes father. What time do I have to get ready by?" Athrun asked.

"Six thirty," the old man replied.

Athrun went inside his room and took out his phone. He decided to call Cagalli. However, he was directed to her voicemail.

"Hey I'm here. Call me when you're free ok?" Athrun left the message.

**... ... ...**

"Princess! Come back here! I'm not done with you yet!" a chubby woman yelled as she chased after the blonde princess.

Cagalli cursed when she finally managed to lose Mana, her nanny. Cagalli hated parties and the fact that she had to wear dresses. Unfortunately for her, Mana manhandled her into wearing the long silky green dress that was tinted with white gold.

Cagalli's hair was also done up. Her fringe was pinned up and her golden locks were tied up. But before Mana could put the tiara on her head, Cagalli managed to escape and disappeared into the crowd. There was no way she was going to wear the tiara because it would immediately call for attention. The tiara practically says, "I'm the princess!"

Cagalli manoeuvred her way around the ballroom. Just as she managed to pull away from the crowd, something caught her attention and Cagalli gasped in surprise.

"Oh my gosh! What is _he _doing here? I am so dead!" Cagalli cursed. Just then, the boy turned to face Cagalli and Cagalli immediately paled and stiffened.

"_Oh no! Oh no! He's walking towards me! Don't tell me he recognises me!" Cagalli was practically screaming in her head._

Cagalli caught sight of the French glass doors leading to the balcony. There, she could go down the stone steps which lead to the south garden.

Cagalli made her way down the stairs in a hurry. Looking behind, Cagalli cursed again. He was following her! So he probably did see her and recognise her.

It was a good thing it was dark that night. It made it easier for Cagalli to get away.

As what Cagalli hoped, he walked deeper into the garden and away from where Cagalli was. Cagalli looked back towards the balcony. Mana was standing there at the doorway looking to see if Cagalli was in the gardens. Cagalli sighed. She could not sneak back up there after all.

Looking for other ways to escape, Cagalli caught sight of the opened windows of another room. Cagalli smiled. Looks like God did not abandon her after all.

Cagalli was an expert at climbing up walls. She had done this many time before. She used to sneak out at night and this was the only way not to get caught.

Despite wearing a dress, Cagalli managed to climb into the room. She realised that she was in the south wing study. Thank goodness no one was there. She could not imagine the look on the person's face should he or she see her coming in from the window. Reaching for her hand phone which was tied to her ankle, Cagalli called Kira.

"Cagalli where are you?" Kira asked frantically.

"I'm in the south wing study!" Cagalli replied. "Guess who's here?"

"Athrun!" Kira replied.

"No! It's Yuna!" Cagalli corrected. "I think he saw me and recognised me despite me dressing up and all. He tried to follow me but thank god I managed to lose him..."

"He's here too?" Kira said.

"Yes I know! Can you believe it? All he has to do now is to poke his nose around a little more and then I'm a gone case!" Cagalli nearly yelled.

"I have another bad news for you," Kira told her.

"Well spit it out. How bad could it get now anyway," Cagalli said.

"Athrun's here," Kira replied.

"WHAT?" Cagalli shouted.

**To be continued...**

**Notes:**

**1) Archangel Academy is in the plants.**

**2) Plants and Orb are countries on earth. There is no one living in space and coordinators and naturals don't exist here.**

**3) Athrun lives in the plants while Kira and Cagalli lives in Orb. The twins moved to the plants for their studies.**

**I'm sorry if I have many mistakes here. I had no time to read again. And I'm so sorry that this is so short! I'll try to make it up next chapter! Really sorry.**


	15. Chapter 15

**This chapter is co-written with trulyanimelover06.**

**... ... ...**

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Aihsire Atha, Alice, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, colourfulgurl, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, patzie24, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, Sawagi-chan, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06, yuki001,**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

**... ... ...**

_Previously..._

"_Cagalli where are you?" Kira asked frantically._

"_I'm in the south wing study!" Cagalli replied. "Guess who's here?"_

"_Athrun!" Kira replied._

"_No! It's Yuna!" Cagalli corrected. "I think he saw me and recognised me despite me dressing up and all. He tried to follow me but thank god I managed to lose him..."_

"_He's here too?" Kira said._

"_Yes I know! Can you believe it? All he has to do now is to poke his nose around a little more and then I'm a gone case!" Cagalli nearly yelled._

"_I have another bad news for you," Kira told her._

"_Well spit it out. How bad could it get now anyway," Cagalli said._

"_Athrun's here," Kira replied._

"_WHAT?" Cagalli shouted._

Chapter 15

The trumpets sounded, playing the fanfare and announcing the arrival of the princess. Everyone looked up towards the marble staircase. They were all excited. Nobody knew how the princess of Orb really looked like. She was kept away from the media and the public her whole life. Of course, there were some who knew but tonight was her first formal appearance. Even so, the press was not invited to this private event ensuring that the public will not know her until her debut on her eighteenth birthday.

"Presenting, her royal highness, Princess Cagalli Yula Athha of Orb!"

Everyone stared in awe of the blonde princess standing on top of the stairs. They were captivated by her radiance and her beauty. Cagalli began her descent with the poise and grace instilled to her as a child.

"_Calm down Cagalli!" she told herself. "Everything's going to be fine. Just breathe. You can deal with the consequences later and hope for the best. Breathe. That's right. Five more steps. Three... two..."_

Cagalli finally made it. Her father, who was waiting for her down the stairs, was beaming with pride.

"Cagalli, I would like you to meet someone," the King smiled at his daughter.

Taking her father's arm, Cagalli followed the King. Somehow, her heart was beating furiously. She had a bad feeling about this meeting.

"Cagalli, this is my friend Chairman of the Plants Patrick Zala. Patrick, this is my lovely daughter Cagalli," the King introduced.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir," Cagalli curtsied.

Patrick Zala merely nodded his head.

Cagalli looked up at the cold man in front of him. _"He really is Athrun's father. No doubt about that..." Cagalli thought._

"She's a beauty Uzumi," Patrick finally spoke. "She really looks like Via, speaking of whom, how is she?"

"Well you know my sister, you can never tame her. She's as free spirited and as wild as ever. She's currently climbing Mount Everest with Ulen." Uzumi laughed.

"I wonder how he keeps up with her," Patrick mustered up a small smile. "I suppose personality wise, Cagalli took from Ulen."

"That's where you're wrong Patrick," Uzumi chuckled. "Looks and personality wise, she's definitely a Via. The only thing she got from Ulen is his blonde hair."

"You're majesty! Chairman!" someone called out.

"Unato," Uzumi said as a chubby balding man walked towards them.

"How are your majesty and the chairman?" Unato asked. "Ah! Princess! It's so good to finally meet you! You really are such a beauty! Everyone here can't take their eyes of you!"

"_Definitely a Seiran," Cagalli thought in disgust. "He must be Yuna's father."_

"I must introduce you to my son Princess! He's name is Yuna and he is a handsome young boy! Very charming, you will love him," Unato Seiran said.

It took every once of self control for Cagalli not to gag. _"That confirms it..." She thought._

"Yes there will be plenty of time for introduction later Unato. Anyway, I don't see any of the boys around. Kira, Athrun, Shinn and Yuna are not here," Uzumi said.

"It would seem that the younger generation are not into social gatherings anymore," someone commented.

Everyone turned around to see who had spoken. It was Gilbert Durandal.

"Or it could also be that they are trying to get to know each in their own boyish way to strengthen the bonds of our countries," Cagalli reasoned. "They are after all, the future leaders of the generation."

"Excellent comment your highness," Gilbert said. "I'm sure you'll make a fine Queen of Orb someday..." he mused.

**... ... ...**

_Flashback_

_Shinn was taking a stroll in the south wing garden. It was a beautiful night. The crescent moon illuminated the stone path he followed as the cool evening breeze gently touched his face. The south wing garden was also known as the rose garden. Roses of myriads of colours filled the entire garden._

_As Shinn was about to head back to the grand ballroom to look for Kira and Cagalli, he heard two familiar voices. Taking cover among the tall rose bushes, Shinn listened to their conversation._

"_Zala! What are you doing here?"_

"_I didn't expect to see you here as well."_

"_Well what can you expect, I am basically royalty!"_

"_Is that so?"_

"_Don't play games with me Zala! Cut your crap and tell me where she went!"_

"_I don't believe you're in any position to tell me what to do."_

"_How dare you talk to me like that! I just had enough of you always disturbing MY Cagalli!"_

"_For your information, she's not your Cagalli. She's mine. She has agreed to be my girlfriend."_

"_Oh yea? If she's your girlfriend, why isn't she your date for this party?"_

_It was quiet for a while. Shinn didn't hear Athrun rebutting._

"_Aha! I knew it! She didn't come here with you! Meaning someone else took her here!"_

"_She didn't come here with you either."_

_Shinn heard enough. He knew that Cagalli was in trouble and that he had to find her soon. After managing to contact her, Shinn found her and Kira in the south wing study._

"_What? BOTH of them saw me?" Cagalli panicked._

"_Calm down, Cagalli. They only saw you. They don't know you're the princess. They thought that you were someone else's date." Shinn told Cagalli._

"_Great. How reassuring," Cagalli rolled her eyes._

"_Seriously Cagalli, you don't have to worry. We can easily make an excuse why you're here. Just say I begged you to come because I desperately needed a date so that my mother would stop nagging." Shinn said._

"_Yes but you're forgetting one thing," Kira said. "Cagalli's going to be formally introduced to the guests later on."_

"_They don't have to find out..." Shinn said. "Cagalli just have to be with them somewhere else at the time of her introduction..."_

"_But how can she be at two places at the same time?" Kira asked._

"_I can't," Cagalli replied. Something in Cagalli's eyes however told Kira that she had it all figured out._

_Suddenly, Kira was hit with realisation. "I don't like this at all," he told her._

"_It's not as if we have much of a choice!" Cagalli replied._

"_Can't we just knock them out? Or lock them inside a room until it's over?" Kira asked desperately._

"_Are you forgetting who their fathers are? We can't do that to them and expect to get away with it!" Cagalli said. "You will have to distract them!"_

"_And what makes you think we'll get away with this one! Surely they'll notice!" Kira protested._

"_No they won't! Trust me. Just make your voice two notches higher, add a little boobs and wah-lah!" Cagalli told him._

"_I still don't like this," Kira said. "What if something goes wrong? What if..."_

"_That's why Shinn will be with you at all times! He will make sure nothing goes wrong!" Cagalli tried to reason._

_**... ... ...**_

"_Don't breathe Kira! Stomach in!" Cagalli commanded as she pulled the strings, tightening the corset._

_Kira, who was forced to obey, looked very miserable as if he was in the brink of tears._

"_Kira, don't be such a baby!" Cagalli snapped. "Be a man and suck it up!"_

"_Pft! But he sure doesn't look like a man!" Shinn snickered._

_Kira glared at Shinn and just as he was about to protest, Cagalli cut him off. "Just ignore him," she told Kira._

_On top of the corset that was suffocating him, Kira wore a similar pale green dress to Cagalli. His brunette hair was also hidden by a blonde wig._

"_I think he needs more stuffing Cag," Shinn laughed. "I know you're flat, but not that flat."_

_Cagalli's eyes widened in surprise and her face turned red immediately._

"_YOU PERVERT!" Cagalli accused as she crossed her arms on her chest._

"_HOW DARE YOU!" Kira yelled at Shinn. "THAT'S MY SISTER HERE!"_

"_I-I didn't m-mean it that w-way!" Shinn stammered as he blushed in realisation at what he just said._

_Suddenly, the hair dyer flew towards Shinn. Shinn successfully darted out of the way but he was unable to dodge the next shoe that hurled onto his head._

"_Ouch! That hurts!" Shinn cried as he massaged head._

"_OUT!" Cagalli screamed pointing to the door._

"_C-Cagalli, I didn't m-mean to! I-I swear!" Shinn said._

"_GET OUT NOW!" Cagalli yelled as she threw her other shoe at him._

_Shinn wrapped his hands around his head as ran towards the door trying to avoid the flying shoe._

"_AND STAY OUT!" Cagalli roared, slamming the door at Shinn's face. "Now, where were we?" Cagalli asked calmly this time. Her mood, suddenly turning a hundred and eighty degrees, scared Kira. "Right, contacts," she answered her own question._

_Kira gulped as Cagalli turned to him, her fingers carefully holding the small delicate plastic._

"_It's a-alright s-sis," Kira stuttered. "I can p-put it on myself."_

"_Don't be ridiculous Kira! I can put it on so much faster for you!" Cagalli told him. "The last time you tried putting it on by yourself, took you two hours! We haven't got all night you know..."_

"_B-but..." Kira squeaked._

"_Kira Yamato!" Cagalli barked._

_Kira stared at his twin. Cagalli can sure be intimidating when she wanted to._

_A little while later, Shinn was finally allowed to go back into the room. Shinn was speechless when he saw the twins. They looked exactly like mirror images, he could not tell them apart. Turning to one of them, Shinn said, "Come on Cagalli, it's nearly time."_

"_I'm the real one you dolt!" the other blonde yelled at Shinn._

_**... ... ...**_

"_Athrun!" Shinn called out when he spotted the bluenette and Yuna in the balcony of the grand ball room. "I didn't know you're in Orb." Shinn said completely ignoring Yuna._

_Athrun looked really surprised when he saw Shinn. "Well umm..." Athrun said._

"_Cagalli will be so happy to see you. She's here you know... I invited her. I needed a date to escape my mother's wrath and she agreed after some bribing," Shinn told Athrun._

"_Where is she now?" Athrun asked._

"_She's in the east wing garden. She hates parties, so she walked off by herself. I'll take you to her," Shinn offered._

"_What? She's alone?" Athrun nearly yelled._

_End of flashback_

**... ... ...**

Yuna had followed Shinn and Athrun to the garden after hearing that Cagalli was there. "Cagalli darling!" Yuna said as ran towards the blonde standing by the fountain. Turning around, the blonde cringed in disgust. Yuna lost his balance when the blonde he attempted to hug moved out of the way. Suddenly appearing behind Yuna, the blonde lifted his feet and kick Yuna into the fountain. _That will teach you not to mess with my sister you creep._

"Cagalli!" Athrun rushed to the blonde. "What were you thinking walking off by yourself? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?"

Kira stared at the mad bluenette. _Hmm, good to know that he cares a lot in my sister's safety._

"Don't do it again. You have no idea how much you made me worry," Athrun said as pulled the blonde into an embrace.

Beside them, Shinn was covering his mouth and trying not to laugh out loud. He was thinking of how Kira was feeling.

Kira's face was turning redder by the second. He felt really awkward to be in the arms of another boy considering that he was straight. _Oh gosh. Cagalli owes me big time for this!_

Realising the blonde's sudden rise in temperature, Athrun pulled away. "Are you ok? You seemed to be a bit hot," Athrun said as he placed the back of his hand on the blonde's forehead.

"N-No! I mean I'm fine! Don't worry!" Kira nearly shouted.

"You don't sound really good," Athrun told Kira.

"It's just a sore throat! Really, I'm ok!" Kira panicked. _This is bad! He's going to find out! What should I do? Think Kira think!_

Just then, Yuna tried to get off the fountain. "What's this? My darling is sick?"

"Buzz off," Shinn said as he kicked Yuna back into the fountain.

"I'm taking you home Cagalli. I don't care if it's just a minor sore throat. I'm not taking any chances," Athrun said. "I'll just inform my father that I'm leaving first."

"No!" Kira's sudden outburst made Athrun look bewilderedly at him. _Argh! Why of all the times, he has to be over-protective now? _"Umm... I mean I need to pee first."

"Shinn, why don't you take Cagalli..."

"No!" Kira cut Athrun off. "I mean please don't leave me!" Kira begged. Kira sounded very desperate as he glared at Shinn as if asking him to help out.

Shinn shrugged, "Well you heard her." Pointing to the drenched Yuna in the fountain, Shinn continued, "Besides, I should take care of this loser here even though the sound of him dying of hyperthermia is very appealing."

Athrun looked at the blonde. "_Cagalli's sure acting really weird tonight. She must be sicker than I thought," Athrun thought to himself. _Softening his eyes on the blonde, Athrun said gently, "It's alright. I won't leave you. I'll take you to the toilet before I inform my father ok? Is that alright?"

Kira nodded. _Wow it worked! Maybe I should have joined the drama club instead of tennis._

As Kira followed Athrun inside, Kira stepped on the hem of his long gown and tripped. Just then, Athrun turned around and Kira fell face flat on Athrun. Both their lips met.

**... ... ...**

Kira was behaving like a baby in the toilet. He had just kissed his best friend, a boy for that matter, on the lips. It was the most humiliating thing Kira had done other than to dress up as a girl.

_My first kiss! That was my first kiss! I knew I should have asked Lacus out sooner. Now it's too late. My first kiss was given away to a guy! This must be god's punishment for stealing Cagalli's Swiss chocolate truffles._

After what seemed like an eternity, Kira had finally gotten over the kiss. Reaching for his phone that was tied to his ankle, Kira called Cagalli.

"Kira where the hell are you? Why did you call? Did he find out?" Cagalli asked frantically.

"I'm in the east wing first floor ladies," Kira replied. He was not going to tell Cagalli about the kiss. He had been humiliated enough and he was not going to let her rub on it. He could only hope that Athrun will not mention any of this to Cagalli later on.

"What are you doing there? You're not a peeping tom are you?" Cagalli questioned.

"Oh course not!" Kira replied embarrassed. "Listen. Athrun wants to take me home! He thinks I'm sick! He wants to inform his father that he's leaving! We have to switch now!"

"Alright! I'll be there in five minutes! First floor east wing ladies right?"

"Yes. What? Five minutes? Can't you come sooner? He's going to think something's wrong if I'm inside for too long!"

"Then tell him to leave you and find his father first. Say you'll be stuck in the toilet for quite a while."

"But what if he meets you halfway while you're making your way here?" Kira asked sceptical.

"I'll be sure to look around and check if he's in the corner! If he is, I'll hide!" Cagalli replied.

"But..."

"Just do as I say Kira!" Cagalli snapped.

**... ... ...**

Cagalli was in a rush. It took her longer than expected to leave the ballroom with the other guests constantly trying to keep her in a conversation. She could only hope that she could leave before Athrun could reach the ballroom.

Just as she thought everything was going to be fine, someone had called her. Cagalli immediately stiffened and paled. She knew that voice.

"Cagalli? What are you doing here?" Athrun asked.

**To be continued...**

**Thanks for all of your reviews! I really hope you like this chapter! Is Yuna's father called Unato? I can't remember. I'll try to update once a week, latest once in two weeks. So if you don't see me don't worry! I probably just did not have much time to write. Please review and tell me what you think.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Special thanks to trulyanimelover06. This story would never have been half as good without your ideas and help. Thank you. And to the reviewers, thank you so much for taking the time to review. I really apologise for taking this long.**

**By the way, I'm changing Patrick Zala's occupation. He's the chairman of Zala Corp, the most successful business in the world. So basically he's a business tycoon instead of a politician.**

**... ... ...**

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Aihsire Atha, Alice, AyameRose, Blackcat8794, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, colourfulgurl, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, patzie24, ren, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, Sawagi-chan, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06, yuki001, Yuniee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

**... ... ...**

_Previously..._

_Cagalli was in a rush. It took her longer than expected to leave the ballroom with the other guests constantly trying to keep her in a conversation. She could only hope that she could leave before Athrun could reach the ballroom._

_Just as she thought everything was going to be fine, someone had called her. Cagalli immediately stiffened and paled. She knew that voice._

"_Cagalli? What are you doing here?" Athrun asked._

**... ... ...**

Chapter 16

"Athrun! Oh umm... Err... Well... You see... You were gone for a really long time and I got tired of waiting. Yup, that's it!" Cagalli said.

"Oh sorry about that... I got lost..." Athrun said slightly embarrassed.

"Have you met your father?" Cagalli asked. In her mind, Cagalli was thanking God for letting her slip away from the ballroom just in time.

"Yea. He didn't look particularly too happy though. He wanted me to meet the princess. If you ask me, he probably just wanted to match make us but of course I'm not interested. Athrun replied. "Besides, she's probably very stuck-up, full of herself, and spoilt rotten."

"No she's not!" Cagalli nearly shouted.

Athrun raised an eye brow. "You know her?"

"Err..." Cagalli fumbled with her words. "No... Not really... I mean I don't know her personally," Cagalli lied.

Athrun continued to look at Cagalli oddly. Feeling uncomfortable, Cagalli fidgeted around.

"But Shinn knows her!" Cagalli quickly added. "She and Shinn are friends! You know... Shinn is nobility... He's the son of a count... He told me lots of stuff about her!"

"Oh... I guess I'm wrong..." Athrun told Cagalli. "Shall we go then? Your voice sounds better now but I still want you to go home and rest."

**... ... ...**

"You can turn right here and stop at number twelve," Cagalli told the driver.

The black Mercedes turned into a narrow road and came to a halt in front of a metal gate. It took nearly an hour to reach there. The house was located in one of Orb's mountains.

"My parents like to live in the country side," Cagalli explained. "It's quieter here."

Cagalli and Athrun entered the property through the smaller side gate. "Watch your step," Cagalli warned as she and Athrun climbed down the curved stone steps towards the front porch. Being on a mountainous area, the ground was unlevelled. The ground of the gate to the front door was nearly a whole level down.

"Come on in," Cagalli said as she opened the front door and switched on all the lights.

The bedrooms were on a raised wooden platform on the left and a bar counter separated the kitchen and the living room on the right. Right in the middle was a giant glass sliding door leading to the veranda.

Cagalli opened the doors wide to let the cool mountain fresh air in. Walking in to the veranda with Cagalli, Athrun noticed a small lagoon shaped swimming pool below the veranda glistening in the moonlight. Cobblestones paved its way down to the pool and pine trees laid randomly across the carpet grass. Wild flowers, colours of all sorts, surrounded and lined the edges of the hilly garden.

Walking into the maple kitchen, Cagalli took out a small saucepan. "Want some hot chocolate?" Cagalli offered as she pulled the chocolate pastilles and milk out from the refrigerator.

"Wow, you can make hot chocolate?" Athrun asked surprised.

"Are you mocking me?" Cagalli glared at Athrun. "I'm not kitchen illiterate."

"I never said you were!" Athrun quickly said.

"If you do not wish to have some, just tell me," Cagalli told him annoyed.

"Cagalli, you know I didn't mean it that way..." Athrun tried to tell her. "And of course I want to have some..."

Athrun bit his lips as he waited for Cagalli's response anxiously. He should have known better then to comment on Cagalli's cooking.

Cagalli continued to ignore Athrun as she made the hot chocolate. In all honesty, hot chocolate was the only thing Cagalli knew how to make. For a girl who couldn't differentiate domestic appliances, it was weird that Cagalli could do something such as using a saucepan to melt some chocolate.

"Where are your parents?" Athrun asked trying to get Cagalli to talk. The silence was killing him.

"Overseas," Cagalli replied.

Suddenly, Athrun heard a growl.

BOOM! CRASH! BANG!

Everything happened so fast. The next thing Athrun knew, he was lying on the ground with a burning sensation on his chest.

"No Leo!" Athrun heard Cagalli shout. "Naughty Leo! Out! Get out of the house! Go!" Cagalli shooed the cub away. "Oh my gosh Athrun! Are you alright?"

"Yea I think so," Athrun replied at he got up. "What was that?"

"My overweight cat," Cagalli lied. "Wait here ok? I'll go check up on Leo and get some stuff for your burns."

A few minutes later, Cagalli came back with a cold towel and some cream. She ordered Athrun to take off his shirt.

"Does it hurt?" Cagalli asked Athrun as she treated his burns.

"No, don't worry," Athrun assured her.

"Liar..." Cagalli accused. "I know it hurts. I'm really sorry. Leo's not used to strangers... Don't get mad at him ok?"

"It's alright really," Athrun said.

"No it's not!" Cagalli insisted. "It's my fault! I'll make it up to you somehow!"

"Well if you insist..." Athrun said. "How about you take me around Orb tomorrow?"

"Like on a date?" Cagalli blushed.

"Yes," Athrun confirmed turning crimson as well. "Just the two of us... No Kira... No Shinn... No Leo..." he smiled.

"Yes," Cagalli smiled back. "I would like that."

**... ... ...**

"Sis! I'm home!" Kira suddenly burst through the front door.

"Kira? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be..." Cagalli said surprised.

"Shinn called me and told me that Athrun was bringing you home because you were not feeling well. What kind of a brother would I be now if I were to leave you home _alone_?" Kira told her.

"A _very good _one," Cagalli retorted. Of course, Kira was checking up on her. There was no way he was going to let her spend the night alone with Athrun.

"But as you can also see _dear _brother, I am perfectly fine now," Cagalli told him clearly annoyed.

"Well it wouldn't hurt to make sure," Kira replied. "Where is Athrun anyway? I don't see him."

Just then, Athrun came out from the bedroom half naked. "It's really alright Cagalli. You don't have to..." Athrun stopped immediately when he spotted Kira standing at the doorway with his jaws dropped.

"You two? You... You didn't! No!" Kira was hysterical. He misunderstood the situation.

"Kira, no. You're getting it all wrong," Athrun tried to explain.

"B-but you promised me!" Kira yelled.

"WOULD YOU CALM DOWN AND GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF?" Cagalli yelled back.

"HOW CAN I CALM DOWN? MY BEST FRIEND AND MY SISTER JUST..." Kira shouted but he was cut off by Cagalli.

"FOR GOODNESS SAKE KIRA! WE DID NOT HAVE SEX! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M ALL DRESSED UP?" Cagalli screamed at him exasperated.

That seemed to have calmed Kira down. "You didn't?" he asked.

"Yes we didn't. Athrun was burnt by some hot chocolate and he had to take of his top. Just what were you thinking Kira? Seriously, you've been watching too many soap operas! Admit it!" Cagalli said.

**... ... ...**

The next morning...

"What took you so long?" Kira nearly yelled at Shinn. "They left two minutes and three seconds ago!"

"Sorry!" Shinn apologised. Pointing to a paper bag, Shinn continued. "I had to get these... We can't go recognised now can we? Here, put this on."

"What? Why do I get the long pink one?" Kira complained.

"Because you can pass off better as a girl than I can," Shinn replied putting on his own short green coloured wig.

"But why can't both of us be guys?" Kira said still feeling indignant that he has to be the one to dress up as a girl again.

"Because these were the only ones I could find," Shinn told him. "Now quit whining and let's get moving!"

"I'm not whining!" Kira said acting very childishly.

"Alright fine. Whatever. You do know where they're going right?" Shinn asked.

"Yea. Cagalli said they're going to the movie house," Kira replied.

"Ok, let's go," Shinn said.

**... ... ...**

"What movie should we watch?" Athrun asked Cagalli.

"I'm fine with any movie, so you choose," Cagalli smiled at Athrun.

"_Gosh, what movies do girls like? Think Athrun think! I can't possibly bore Cagalli on our FIRST date! Argh!" Athrun thought to himself._

"Umm, I'm fine with anything as well..." Athrun told her. "So you choose."

"_Good job Athrun! Make her choose so she will surely like the movie!" Athrun smiled to himself, satisfied with his decision._

"You choose Athrun," Cagalli said.

"No it's alright, you choose Cagalli," Athrun replied.

"No, you choose," Cagalli insisted.

"No, you."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"You."

"Alright, I'll choose," Athrun decided. "How about confessions of a shopaholic?"

"_What? Why of all the shows did he choose a bimbotic show? Don't agree Cagalli! Don't agree!" Cagalli screamed inside her head._

However, she did the exact opposite. "Sure, I would like that," Cagalli said.

"_What were you thinking? Now you have just doomed yourself to two hours of torture! Argh! Please let the fire alarm sound! Please!" Cagalli thought._

Athrun and Cagalli sat right at the back of the cinema, waiting for the movie to start.

"Is that Miss Ramius and Mr La Flaga?" Athrun whispered, pointing to a couple a few seats in front of them.

"Yes I think so too!" Cagalli whispered back. "Eww! What do you say we change movies? I don't think I can sit here and watch..."

"Yea sure," Athrun said gladly. Truth be told, he didn't want to watch confessions of a shopaholic and he was glad that their school teachers were there to save him from watching the show.

**... ... ...**

Kira and Shinn were sitting a few rows behind Cagalli and Athrun.

"Thank goodness they changed movies!" Shinn told Kira. "I would die if I had to sit down there and watch confessions of a shopaholic..."

"Oh my gosh Shinn! Look!" Kira interrupted pointing to Cagalli and Athrun in front.

"What? What? What's going on?" Shinn asked alarmed.

"Shh!" the people around the two boys were hushing them to keep their volume down.

After muttering a few apologies, Kira said, "H-He's doing t-that thing!"

"What thing?" Shinn asked not getting what Kira meant.

"You know... That thing! The thing boys do when they try to make a move on the girl!" Kira said.

"Huh?" Shinn replied.

"Oh just let me show you!" Kira told him.

Shinn stared intently at Kira, wondering what the brunette was going to do. Just then, Kira yawned as he stretched his arms.

"W-what are you d-doing Kira?" Shinn panicked when Kira's arms found their way to Shinn's shoulders.

"I'm showing you what Athrun's about to do to Cagalli!" Kira replied.

"Hey you two!" someone shouted making the two boys jump. "No gays allowed in this movie hall! Didn't you read the sign?" the man pointed to the wall. There was a sign saying: No Gays Allowed On Thursdays.

"W-We're not gays!" Shinn defended.

"I don't care if you're gays or girls! I want you out!" the man said.

"Who the hell are you to tell us what to do?" Shinn countered.

Suddenly the man stood up and his full size was revealed. He was three times the size of the boys.

Shinn and Kira gulped.

"Look, we don't want trouble..." Kira told the man. "Can't you see I'm a girl?" Kira said stroking his pink long hair.

"I know. And unless you're blind, your friend here too is a girl," the man pointed to Shinn.

"What?" Shinn exclaimed. "I'm a hundred percent guy!"

"And I'm a hundred percent goose," the man retorted.

Before Shinn and Kira could say 'Jack Robinson', the two boys were kicked out of the movie hall.

"I can't believe he thought that I was a girl! A girl for f***ing sake!" Shinn cursed.

"Oh shut up Shinn," Kira said. "We can't spy on them now. Who knows what might happen the whole time we're not watching!"

**... ... ...**

"Why are we leaving now? The movie hasn't ended yet," Athrun questioned Cagalli when she dragged him off half way through the movie.

"Because my dear twin brother has taken the liberty to invade my private life," Cagalli replied.

"Huh?" that was Athrun's reply.

Cagalli sighed. "Kira and Shinn are spying on us. I paid someone to kick them out. Let's grab this opportunity to lose them for good while they're distracted."

**... ... ...**

"Where are we?" Athrun asked Cagalli. They seemed to have come to a party.

"I don't know..." Cagalli replied. She had no idea how they managed to come here. One moment they were running away from Kira and Shinn and the next, they were in some party.

"Oh crap!" Cagalli cursed when she saw a familiar blonde. It was her cousin Stella! Cagalli had two choices. One, go to Stella first and make sure she does not reveal her identity. Or two, hide and run away immediately.

However, Cagalli was left only with the first choice. Stella had seen her and was walking towards her.

"Hey I just saw my cousin. Stay here ok?" she told him as she rushed off to meet Stella, leaving Athrun behind.

"Cagalli!" Stella ran to give her a hug. "Stella missed you!"

"I know and I miss Stella too," Cagalli replied. "Listen Stella, can you do me a favour?"

Stella nodded her head.

"I came here with my friend and he doesn't know I'm the princess. So don't go blabbing about those stuff to him ok?" Cagalli told Stella. "Understand?"

Stella nodded and then a sly smile was plastered on her face. "Is he Cagalli's boyfriend?"

Cagalli immediately blushed.

"Stella's right!" Stella said with glee. "Stella wants to meet him!"

Athrun was surrounded by girls. Even though he told them to get lost, they became more persistent saying, "How cute! He's playing hard to get!" He was wondering when Cagalli would come back and save him from those annoying girls. Cagalli was sure taking her own sweet time.

Suddenly, one of the girls literally threw herself at Athrun. Atrhun cringed in disgust. How low could those girls get? Turning around, he saw two blondes. Cagalli stomped off fuming while the other blonde shook her head and said, "Tsk tsk."

"Cagalli wait!" Athrun called out as he attempted to lose those clingy girls. However, by the time he managed to escape, Cagalli had disappeared. The other blonde who was with Cagalli earlier was shaking her head in disapproval at Athrun.

"Where is she?" he asked the other blonde.

The blonde continued to frown at Athrun.

"Please," Athrun begged.

Sighing, the blonde pointed to the left.

Cagalli was seated at one of the bar stools fuming in rage. She did not know why she was so jealous. That was so not like her.

"Hey baby! Care to join me?" a man was hitting on Cagalli. Just as he was about to place his hand on Cagalli's waist, Athrun caught his arm.

"Hands off. She's mine," Athrun growled tightening his hold on the man's hand..

The man was shaking. It was hard to tell if it was due to fear or pain. Athrun looked absolutely intimidating and the man's wrist looked as if it was about to break.

After letting go, the man ran off in fright.

"Let's go somewhere else," Cagalli said to Athrun.

Athrun only nodded as he followed Cagalli out of the party.

**... ... ...**

Athrun was alone in the convenience store. The people there were looking at him suspiciously for he was looking very flustered and uncomfortable.

"The things Cagalli make me go through..." Athrun mumbled to himself as he looked left and right.

"Can I help you young man?"

Athrun jumped up in surprise as an old woman suddenly appeared before him.

"Umm yes. No! I mean no!" Athrun nearly shouted. "I think I'll just leave now..." Athrun said embarrassed as he left the shop in a hurry. That was just too humiliating. People probably thought he was a robber.

"_Just suck it up Athrun! You have to do this for Cagalli!" Athrun had a mental debate in his head._

"_No don't do it! What kind of a man does this? Its bad luck you know to touch this kind of private girl's stuff!"_

"_You have to do it Athrun! You can't leave Cagalli in the lurch!"_

_Flashback_

_Athrun was waiting for Cagalli outside the ladies. Suddenly, his phone vibrated and caller ID reported that the incoming call was from the blonde herself._

"_Cagalli? What's wrong?" Athrun panicked._

"_Umm Athrun..." Cagalli started._

"_Yes?" Athrun said._

"_I have a problem," Cagalli told him._

"_What is it?" Athrun asked worried._

"_I have my thing..." Cagalli said quietly._

"_What thing?" Athrun asked puzzled._

_Cagalli took a deep breath. "You know... That monthly thing girls have," she told him embarrassed._

_End of flashback_

And that was how Athrun found himself back in the convenience store.

"Ahem, it's you again young man," the old lady eyed Athrun. "How can I help you?"

"Umm... Well... You see... Err... Umm..." Athrun stuttered.

"Oh just get on with it young man! I don't have all day!" the old woman snapped.

"I need those woman things," Athrun said quickly.

"What?" the old woman said.

"It's for the monthly thing girls have," Athrun turned into a brilliant shade of red.

"Are you referring to the pills or the pads?" the woman asked.

"Err what do the pills do? It's not birth control is it?" Athrun asked alarmed.

"No. It's for menstrual cramps," the old woman laughed. "So that was what you were looking for..." She chuckled. "I haven't put up the new stock in the shelves yet... That's why you couldn't find it... What brand are you looking for? Do you want with wings or without? And how big do you want it to be?"

"I'm not sure..." Athrun replied honestly.

"This young man's not a robber! He's here looking for a pad for his girlfriend!" the old woman announced to the people in the store who were looking weirdly at Athrun.

If it was possible, Athrun would have dug a hole in the ground and stick his head in it. This was the most humiliating thing in his whole life.

"Here you go son," the woman came back with a small package. "Do you want the pills as well?" she asked.

"Yea sure," Athrun said quickly. Right now, all he wanted to do was to hurry away from here.

**... ... ...**

It was nearly twelve midnight.

Athrun said to Cagalli, "You've had your turn to choose. Now it's mine."

"Fine, it's your turn," Cagalli agreed.

**... ... ...**

"What are we doing?" Cagalli asked panicking. They were in the business district sneaking off into one of the office buildings.

"Shh, relax. We're in the the Zala Corp," Athrun told her.

"Then why are we sneaking around?" Cagalli whispered.

"Because I didn't really ask for permission to go snooping here at night," Athrun chuckled.

Cagalli gave Athrun a frown.

"Do you trust me?" Athrun looked intensely into those amber orbs.

"Yes," Cagalli replied. "But..."

Athrun silenced Cagalli by putting his finger on her lips. "Shh..." Athrun smiled at her as he pulled Cagalli away, ducking from the security guard and sneaking up into the rooftop.

"Wow, the view here is amazing," Cagalli told him. They were sitting up on the rooftop and had an unobstructed view of the city's night sky.

Athrun was checking his watch constantly, earning him a puzzled look from Cagalli.

"Look Cagalli!" Athrun shouted excitedly, pointing into the sky. "Meteor showers!" Bright hues of light were shooting across in the night sky.

Cagalli breathed, "Wow..." Looked affectionately back at Athrun, she smiled, "You planned this didn't you?"

Athrun smiled back at Cagalli. Leaning closer to Athrun, Cagalli rested her head on his strong shoulders."

"Athrun?" Cagalli said.

"Mmm?" Athrun replied.

"Thank you," Cagalli said quietly.

"For what?" Athrun asked.

"For everything..." Cagalli replied. "I had fun today..."

"Really?" Athrun said in delight. "I'm glad..." he said.

**... ... ...**

"Ahem!" the lights suddenly went on when Cagalli and Athrun entered the house.

"Do you have ANY idea what TIME it is now?" Kira said angrily.

"Umm... a quarter past two?" Cagalli replied innocently.

"IN THE MORNING!" Kira exploded. "IT'S TWO FIFTEEN IN THE MORNING!"

"Yea yea, ok ok, I get the point," Cagalli said waving her hand in the air. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow Athrun."

"Hold on there a second," Kira commanded. "You two are not going anywhere just yet."

"Come on Kira!" Cagalli protested. "It's late or should I say very early in the morning! Can't it wait till sunrise? I'm really tired."

"No." Kira said firmly. "What did you two do the whole day? Where were you?" Kira questioned.

"Umm... Watching a movie?" Cagalli replied.

"Liar!" Kira accused pointing his finger at his sister. "You two suddenly disappeared halfway through the movie!"

"How do you know that?" Cagalli tried to sound horrified. "You didn't!" she faked a gasp.

"W-What? D-Don't be ridiculous!" Kira stuttered. "Shinn and I just happened to be there! Where is he anyway? Ah there he is!" Kira pointed to a still form snoring away on the couch. "Hey wake up!" Kira yanked Shinn out of the bed. Shinn sure was a heavy sleeper.

Shinn fell on the floor with a thud. "Huh? What happened? Are they here yet?" Shinn asked.

"Idiots!" Cagalli screamed at Kira and Shinn. Taking the nearest thing she could reach, Cagalli hurled it at the two boys. "Is it that hard to leave me alone for the day?"

"H-Hey!" Kira stammered as he ducked out of the way. "T-that's an antique China vase!"

**To be continued...**

**Hey folks! I'm really very busy so updating once a week is really hard. I'm so sorry. But I'm using my profile page to update everyone on the progress of my story (the date of estimated update etc). It's estimated so no guarantees I can update on the day itself but I will try my best. And I may change the estimated date anytime depending how busy I am...**

**Please review! Tell me how I can improve it... How is this chapter? Thank you in advance!**

**And I have a new story called Entwined Souls. Please read it too and tell me what you think of it as well. Thank you.**


	17. Chapter 17

**I'm so sorry for being so fickle minded! I only changed a little of the second last paragraph... I reread the chapter this morning and I realised it would be better off this way. Sorry for any inconvinience. Again special thanks to trulyanimelover 06.**

**... ... ...**

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Aihsire Atha, Alice, AyameRose, Blackcat8794, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, colourfulgurl, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Lynca Blanchard, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, patzie24, ren, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, Sawagi-chan, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06, yuki001, Yuniee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

**... ... ...**

Chapter 17

Many days had passed, the holidays were over, and it was now the first week of school. The students were gathered in the hall for the casting of the roles. For that semester, life skills classes were replaced by a combined drama class. The gym teachers were the teachers in charge of the drama class.

"For the role of the princess," Miss Natarle Badgiruel announced. The whole hall turned silent in anticipation for the casting. Just then, Meer stood up smirking as she walked towards Natarle waving to the seated students.

"Miss Campbell, what do you think you're doing?" Natarle asked raising an eye brow.

"I'm waving to all my royal subjects of course," Meer replied smugly.

Natarle looked at Meer as if she had lost her sanity. "For the role of the princess," Natarle tried again. "Athrun Zala!"

"WHAT?" Athrun and Meer shouted at the same time.

"But I'm supposed to be princess!" Meer screamed horrified that she didn't get the role.

"Miss Badgiruel, there must be s-some m-mistake," Athrun protested. "I-I'm a guy!"

Everyone was bursting into fits of laughter.

"Don't worry Athrun," Kira laughed. "Your role is easy! All you have to do is to pretend to sleep!"

"... Kira Yamato!" Natarle said.

"Huh? Yes?" Kira asked wiping a tear from his eye.

"Dude! You're the prince!" Dearka told Kira.

"WHAT?" Kira cried.

"SILENCE!" Natarle barked. All the students became quiet with the exception of Kira who was whimpering away. "The roles are drawn randomly and are final! Rehearsals start tomorrow. Class dismissed!"

"Nooo! I don't want to be the prince!" Kira was wailing like a child. "I don't want to kiss Athrun!"

"Oh suck it up little brother," Cagalli laughed. Then she leaned over and whispered dangerously into his ear, "Besides, you've already done it before. So what's the problem now?"

Kira immediately quietened. "H-How d-did you know?" Kira stuttered.

"Shinn told me," Cagalli smiled mischievously at her twin before continuing. "You should really be ashamed of yourself little bro," she told him. "Athrun's taking this a lot better than you." Cagalli then looked at Athrun who was standing by himself in the corner of the hall. He looked as if he was about to cry.

"I'm the white fairy Cagalli!" Lacus came running in excitement, flagging a piece of paper she had taken from Miss Badgiruel. With all the buzz and commotion earlier, no one heard the casting of the other roles despite Miss Badgiruel's booming voice.

"And I'm the... tree? Huh?" Dearka said when he took the piece of paper from Lacus.

"It means you're one of the props, idiot!" Miriallia told him.

"And Yzak's the cranky old woman!" Shiho laughed.

"I didn't know there's a cranky old woman in sleeping beauty," Miriallia said.

"Well technically, Yzak's the old lady at the tower with the spinning wheel. But knowing Yzak, he'll probably screw up the role and become a cranky old woman," Shiho replied matter-of-factly.

"Hey watch what you're saying woman!" Yzak yelled at Shiho. "I can so act! I will not screw it up!"

"Oh yea?" Shiho challenged.

"Watch me!" Yzak said defiantly.

**... ... ...**

It was now the first day of rehearsals and everyone was gathered around the school theatre.

"Scene six! ACTION!" Miss Badgiruel, the director, yelled.

It was the scene at the tower. Athrun appeared on stage walking to Yzak who was spinning.

"Hello. What are you doing?" Athrun asked.

"What do you think? What does it look like I'm doing?" Yzak shot back.

"CUT!" Miss Badgiruel barked. "You've got the words wrong Joule! You're supposed to say 'I'm spinning'! Again! Back to positions... and ACTION!"

"I'm spinning!" Yzak said.

"CUT!" Miss Badgiruel shouted again.

"What now?" Yzak asked angrily.

"You're supposed to a kind and gentle old lady! Not a cranky old one who is menopausing!" Miss Badgiruel replied impatiently. "Alright! We'll work on this scene later. Next scene!"

**... ... ...**

"Scene eight! ACTION!" Miss Badgiruel shouted.

Athrun was lying on the makeshift bed as still as he could trying his very best to keep a calm facade. Kira came walking in from the back stage.

"Oh! She's very beautiful!" Kira tried to exclaim. "Her lips are as red as a rose, and so... wrong! No wait! I don't really have to kiss him do I?" Kira protested.

"Yes you do!" Dearka shouted.

"CUT! Elseman! You're supposed to be a tree! And what are you doing on stage? This is not your scene!" Miss Badgiruel barked. "And do your job properly this time Yamato! Again! Positions everyone... ACTION!"

"_Here goes! I really hate my life!" Kira cried in his head as he closed his eyes and bent forward to give Athrun a kiss._

Suddenly, Athrun's hands flew up to cover Kira's mouth. "You're not serious are you?" Athrun yelled turning scarlet.

"CUT!" Miss Badgiruel yelled once more. "You are supposed to be sleeping ZALA! Ok that's it. Let's wrap up for today. Go home and practice your roles, all of you! Anyone who messes up the next rehearsal will have detention with me for a month!"

**... ... ...**

Cagalli was looking for Athrun. The latter had disappeared so suddenly after rehearsals and Cagalli was getting worried.

"Where did that idiot go?" Cagalli muttered to herself. "He didn't leave school already did he?"

Walking past the west block, Cagalli noticed that the doorway to the old abandoned music room was ajar. "Of course," Cagalli smacked her hand over her forehead. That place was the secret sanctuary of the both of them. It was only obvious that Athrun had retreated there after today's rehearsal. He must have felt so humiliated, having got to be kissed by Kira.

"Argh, this is all just screwed up!" Athrun yelled grabbing fists full of his silky midnight blue hair. Athrun was very frustrated. He just couldn't get the whole scene eight right. He had no problem with the other scenes, only scene eight; the kissing scene.

"Athrun?" Cagalli called as she entered the room. She spotted the boy in the corner of the room looking very distressed.

Athrun looked at the worried blonde and he immediately felt guilty about fretting her.

"I'm sorry if I've worried you," Athrun told her.

"It's alright," she replied. "Just don't run off by yourself again."

"Sorry," Athrun apologised again.

"Ok, stop apologising!" Cagalli said to him.

"So-," Athrun quickly stopped himself after receiving a glare from Cagalli.

"Alright then, let's get started," Cagalli announced.

"Huh?" Athrun replied not quite getting his girlfriend.

Cagalli sighed. Planting her hands on her hips, Cagalli acted stern. "You're having trouble with scene eight aren't you?"

"W-Well... Yeah..."Athrun replied.

"So let's practise. It'll be easier if you have someone to practise with so here I am!" Cagalli said.

Without waiting for Athrun's reply, Cagalli started. "At last! I finally found her!" Cagalli exclaimed. "Oh! She's very beautiful! Her hair is of sunshine gold and her lips red as the rose..."

Athrun was lost in Cagalli's mesmerising amber eyes. They were different today. They weren't the usual fierce amber he was accustomed to. They sparkled brilliantly with a hint of mischief. Suddenly, Cagalli tiptoed and her lips brushed past his.

Athrun took her into his arms and as Cagalli grinned and whispered, "Will you marry me?"

"Oh yes! But I must eat something first. I'm very hungry! Let's all go down then. There is food on the tables downstairs – and it's warm!" Athrun played along as he said his lines.

**... ... ...**

It was now the day of the performance. Somehow, Athrun and Kira managed to escape the kissing scene during the rehearsals. However, today was the actual performance. The two guys have to do the real thing.

"Alright everyone!" Natarle yelled. "It's show time!"

The crowd erupted into applause as the curtains drew back. It was now the first scene, the christening of the baby princess. On stage, Heine, dressed in robes fit for a King, announced, "We must have a grand christening and invite all the fairies to be the godmothers of our princess!"

While the first few scenes were going on, the people in the back stage were panicking.

"Where on earth is Yamato?" Natarle barked. The performance had started ages ago and still Kira had not yet appeared. She was very angry. "Someone! Get him!" she ordered.

"Oh no! Miss Badgiruel! We have bad news!" Miriallia came running in.

"What is it Hawwe?" Natarle snapped at Miriallia.

"Kira's injured! He fell down the stairs! He can't perform anymore!" Mir told the fuming teacher.

"What?" Natarle shouted.

"And Sai, our prince understudy is down with a cold!" Miriallia added.

"So where am we going to get a new prince now?"

With all the mayhem, it was a wonder how the audience did not hear any of the yelling. Just then, Athrun spoke up. "Miss Badgiruel, Cagalli can be the prince. She knows the script because she has helped me rehearsed."

"Good! Hibiki, you're up!" Natarle commanded.

"What? N-No! You can't be serious! I don't know the script very well!" Cagalli said.

"I am very serious! You are the only one who can save this play now!" Natarle told her.

"But..." Cagalli protested.

"Or how does a month of detention sound like?" Natarle threatened.

Half an hour later...

It was the final scene. Cagalli kissed Athrun on stage and audience went wild, cheered and applauded. The rest of the cast then appeared on stage.

Meer, who acted as the evil witch, apologised, "I'm sorry. I did a bad thing."

"That's alright. I'm very happy! I'm going to marry my prince!" Athrun said.

And finally, the rest of the cast said together, "And they all lived happily ever after!"

**... ... ...**

Shinn looked at his watch. It was half past nine in the evening. He had been hiding in the shadows for about half an hour, waiting for the person to show up. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. His long wait had not been in vain after all.

"So it's you."

**To be continued...**

**Please tell me which story (high school drama or entwined souls) you want me to update next and/or concentrate on first. Thanks! And so sorry that this chapter is so short.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Ok everyone wanted me to update this first so here it is. To those reading Entwined Souls, I promise I will try to update it next. And I'm sorry for my fickle mindedness. It's Shinn and not Shiho here. I already corrected the previous chapter.**

**And special thanks to trulyanimelover06 for your endless ideas, help and support.**

**... ... ...**

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Aihsire Atha, Alice, AyameRose, Blackcat8794, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, colourfulgurl, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Lynca Blanchard, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, patzie24, ren, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, Sawagi-chan, stubbornheroine, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06, VamyMeth, yuki001, Yuniee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

**... ... ...**

_Previously..._

_Shinn looked at his watch. It was half past nine in the evening. He had been hiding in the shadows for about half an hour, waiting for the person to show up. Suddenly, he heard footsteps. His long wait was not in vain after all._

"_So it's you."_

**... ... ...**

Chapter 18

Shinn suddenly appeared out of nowhere, surprising the other party.

The magenta haired girl froze and attempted to make a run for it. But Shinn quickly jumped in and blocked her from escaping.

"You're not going anywhere just yet," Shinn said.

"W-What do you w-want f-from me?" the magenta haired girl whimpered.

"I really didn't expect it to be you," Shinn said. "I always thought it would be someone like Campbell."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," the girl replied.

"I guess it's always the quiet one you have to be most wary of. It actually makes sense if you think about it," Shinn continued. Moving closer to the frightened girl, Shinn grabbed her hand and with his other hand, he pulled a piece of paper from the girl's grasp.

_Flashback_

_Shinn was walking alone in the hallway when he noticed a suspicious student lurking around Cagalli's locker._

"_Hey you!" Shinn shouted pointing a finger to the boy._

_The boy jumped in surprise and when he saw Shinn making his way towards him, he panicked and made a run for it._

"_Come back here, you!" Shinn yelled as he dashed after the boy, skilfully dodging the students who were in his way._

_The boy ran out of the school building and continued running across the field. The soccer team was having their practice there at that time. "Watch out!" one of the soccer members yelled. At that moment, the boy turned around to see the ball flying towards him. Attempting to dodge the ball, the boy staggered and tripped over his own feet, landing heavily with a thud on the grass._

_Before the poor boy could get up, Shinn jumped in and pounced on him._

_Holding the boy by his collar, Shinn yelled at the poor boy. "Who are you and what were you trying to do?"_

_The boy stared in fright and the intimidating Shinn._

"_What's your name?" Shinn asked again._

"_K-Kuzzey," the boy stammered._

"_And what were you thinking of doing?" Shinn asked._

_The boy, known as Kuzzey quavered. "I-I was only t-trying t-to give t-this to C-C-Cagalli," he said as he pulled a piece of paper out from his pocket._

_Shinn snatched the paper and read its contents. "A lover letter?" Shinn questioned._

"_Y-Yes," the boy said terrified._

_Shinn then got off the poor Kuzzey as he straightened his uniform. "Stop wasting your time," Shinn told him as he walked away from the Kuzzey who was still lying on the grass._

_Shinn couldn't believe that he had just wasted his time and energy on some boy with a crush on his best friend. Just then, someone called out his name and a magenta haired girl ran towards him._

"_Shinn, we need to talk," the girl said. "There's something I have to tell you."_

"_What is it Luna?" Shinn asked the girl._

_End of flashback_

"You are going stop your nonsense and apologise to Cagalli," Shinn said.

"Why should I?" the girl shot back with a new found courage. "She doesn't deserve to be with Athrun!"

"And you think you do?" Shinn spat out. "You are nothing compared to Cagalli! Nothing! Cagalli is the most eligible girl in this world. It's Zala that doesn't deserve her!"

"Why?" the girl cried.

Shinn watched the magenta haired girl break down. Though what she did was unacceptable, Shinn felt pity for the poor girl.

"But it's not fair," she sobbed.

"It's never fair, Meyrin," Shinn said softer this time. "Life's never fair."

**... ... ...**

It was the next day and Athrun and Cagalli were making their way to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Cagalli! Athrun!" Shinn called out as he ran to catch up with the couple. "You guys have to know something!"

Cagalli and Athrun stopped and turned around to wait for their friend. "What's up Shinn?" Cagalli asked.

"I found..." Shinn started.

Just then, Dearka and Miriallia appeared and interrupted Shinn.

"There you are Cagalli! Come on! The other girls are waiting for you!" Miriallia said as she pulled Cagalli away to the other end of the cafeteria.

"Huh? What's going on?" Cagalli asked puzzled as she watched Dearka ushering Athrun and Shinn to another table where Kira and a grumpy Yzak was sitting.

"It's the annual fund raising competition," Shiho told the confused blonde.

"I thought fund raising is all about charity. How does competition fit in exactly?" Cagalli asked.

"Well it's actually a fund raising festival. But we compete to see who raises the most funds, boys versus girls. The losers become slaves for the week for our gang," Miriallia explained to Cagalli.

**... ... ...**

"Alright girls! Let's show the guys what we're really made of!" Lacus said as clenched her fist, raising her arm up. The gentle and sweet girl was no longer recognisable as she and her girl friends prepared for 'battle'.

"It's war!" Yzak declared. "Be prepared to get pulverised woman!" Yzak pointed to Shiho.

"Look who's talking," Shiho replied smugly. "Last time I checked, you guys were the ones who got your sorry ass kicked."

"Not this time girls!" Kira said. "We're going to take back what's ours."

"We would like to see you try little bro," Cagalli joined in. "Just don't go crying home to Tori."

"You'll be the one to cry sis!" Kira replied. "No more me being nice brother."

It was the day of the fund raising event. After much insistence and pushing from Meer Campbell, a compromised decision was made.

"Welcome to Bikini Bottom Cafe!" Meer, wearing an extremely short pair of blue denim shorts and a yellow bikini top exposing much of her giant breasts, greeted the students.

"One fish and chips," Cagalli gave the order to Lacus who was cooking in the outdoor kitchen. Cagalli was wearing a pair of white shorts and a red tank top. Unlike Lacus who was wearing a pink sundress, Cagalli violently objected to wearing one.

"Oh my gosh! Girls!" Miriallia came running in.

"What is it Milly?" Shiho asked while she was cleaning a table.

"Bad news! The boys' club/bar is doing very well! If they keep it up, we are goners!" Miriallia told them.

"Looks like we'll win after all," a voice suddenly said from behind. The girls turned around and saw that the boys were approaching them.

"Not so fast boys," Cagalli said. "It's still too early to tell. We have a few tricks up our sleeves. We are just getting started."

"Oh really?" Kira countered.

"Ok girls," Lacus said. "It's time for Plan B."

Suddenly, half of the girls in the school yard started to scamper about, leaving the boys to wonder what was going on.

"Finally! It's about time!" Meer said as she lost her shorts to an even skimpier matching yellow bikini bottom. Some other girls followed suit.

"Welcome boys to Bikini Bottom's carwash," Cagalli said.

Dearka asked eagerly, "Aren't you girls going to strip too?"

"In your dreams pervert!" Miriallia replied. "We are in charge of the cafe, not the carwash!"

"Oh what a bummer!" Dearka pouted.

"Hey where are we going?" Dearka asked when he was pulled away by the other boys. "Don't you want to stay and watch?"

"Of course not!" Yzak snapped. "Can't you see we're going to lose if we don't think of something fast?"

"Yzak's right Dearka," Kira said. "We have to think of a Plan B."

"Well I'm out of ideas..." Dearka said plainly. "What about you Athrun? You haven't said anything from the start."

"I have nothing too," Athrun replied dryly. Truth be told, Athrun was not really into the whole competition. He only went along to make his friends happy.

The boys watched as their business started to fall. Most of their customers were now flocking to Bikini Bottom Cafe/Carwash.

"Ok! Time for Plan C!" Lacus announced.

All the boys were looking at the girls again, wondering what they were up to now.

Just then, two girls in bikinis walked in carrying a large banner saying: **Free picture with model of choice with every $20 spent.**

**... ... ...**

"Oh no! We have bad news!" Miriallia came running to the girls again. "Our cash machine is down!"

"What? Why? What happened to Meer?" Shiho asked.

"She apparently broke a nail. She's now flooding the girls' toilet," Miriallia replied.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Shiho said smacking her hand on her forehead.

"Oh no! That means you're up Cagalli!" Lacus exclaimed.

The girls drew sticks earlier on to decide who would be the replacement for anyone of the models and Cagalli was the unfortunate girl.

"Great..." Cagalli muttered. She has no choice but to do it.

"For what it's worth Cags, you are the most popular girl in school and you can easily make ten times the amount Meer is making," Miriallia tried to encourage the blonde.

**... ... ...**

"Kuzzey! Have you heard?" a boy said. "Cagalli's replacing Meer! Can you believe it? We're going to catch Cagalli real live in a bikini! It's a dream come true! And we can even take pictures with her!"

"Yea I heard..." Kuzzey replied. "But I also heard that the demand for her is so high, you have to spend above fifty bucks now."

Athrun was on his way to see Cagalli when he heard what the other boys said. Dropping the ice cream he got for her, he made a dash to the school yard. It wasn't long before he saw her coming out from a tent wearing an orange bikini. He could hear the cheers and the whistles of the other students as they surrounded her.

Shoving his way through the crowd, Athrun ran towards Cagalli, throwing his jacket around her as he wrapped his arms protectively around her.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Cagalli protested as she struggled against him.

Athrun didn't let go. Instead, he held her tighter towards him as he practically carried her back into the tent.

The students went wild and went into an uproar as Athrun took Cagalli away.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Athrun yelled angrily at Cagalli.

Cagalli stared in shock. She did not know that Athrun would act like that.

"I..." Cagalli said but she closed her mouth immediately when she saw Athrun's frightening dark eyes.

Closing her eyes, Cagalli took a step forward as she wrapped her hands around him and buried her face in his chest.

"I'm sorry," Cagalli whispered. "I was being silly."

She heard him taking a deep breath and not before long, she felt strong arms encircling around her waist. His chin was resting on the top of her head.

"It's alright. I'm sorry for yelling at you," Athrun whispered back. "I didn't mean to, I just..."

"I know," Cagalli interrupted him. "And I love you too."

The couple stayed like that for quite a while, enjoying each other's warmth and company.

"What do you say we ditch everyone and go out for some ice cream?" Cagalli suggested.

"I would like that," Athrun smiled back.

**... ... ...**

It was the next day and Cagalli opened her locker to return some books. There was another piece of paper. Cagalli sighed, "Another hate mail?"

"Athrun! Cagalli!" Shinn called out. Cagalli and Athrun turned around to find Shinn walking towards them alongside a girl with magenta haired tied in two ponytails. The girl looked very scared as she and Shinn approached Cagalli and Athrun.

"What is it?" Athrun asked looking at the magenta haired girl who was casting her eyes to the ground as if she was afraid to look him in the eye.

Just then Shinn gave a light nudge to the girl. "Go on. Tell them and apologise," Shinn told the girl.

"I'm sorry!" the girl blurted out, her hands by the side and her look still casted on the ground.

"Shinn, who is she? And why is she apologising?" Cagalli asked.

"She's Meyrin Hawke. The one who has been sending those hate mails to you," Shinn replied. "I would never have found out if not for her sister Lunamaria."

Cagalli did not know how to respond. Should she demand an explanation why the girl did that to her?

"It's alright. No harm done. Just don't do that again ok?" Cagalli decided to say.

Meyrin finally looked up but only to look back down again. She was looking at Athrun. He was glaring at her murderously with those hard green emerald eyes.

"Athrun," Cagalli said. She knew that he was angry with the poor girl. Athrun was actually very protective. He would hate anyone who threatened Cagalli, no matter how trivial it was.

Athrun slowly closed his eyes before looking back at Cagalli.

"She already apologised," Cagalli said.

"I know," Athrun replied solemnly.

Changing the topic, Cagalli said, "So I guess this isn't from you right?" Cagalli waved a folded piece of paper in front of Meyrin. "I just received it."

"W-What? No! It's not!" Meyrin quickly replied. "I already stopped!"

Smiling gently back at the magenta haired girl, Cagalli unfolded the paper. Her eyes widened in disbelief.

Knowing something was wrong, Shinn and Athrun rushed over to Cagalli and read the contents of the letter. It said:

_I know your secret._

**To be continued...**

**And behold! Meyrin made her appearance. She sent those hate mails! This story is ending soon... Only a few more chapters left to go. I know the previous chapter was rather rushed. I hope this chapter is not as rushed. I'm glad that I actually managed to update this earlier.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Special thanks to trulyanimelover06 and all my reviewers.**

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Aihsire Atha, Alice, AngelfishXD, AyameRose, Blackcat8794, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, colourfulgurl, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Lynca Blanchard, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, Mwah Z, patzie24, ren, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, Sawagi-chan, stubbornheroine, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06, Tuna, VamyMeth, yuki001, Yuniee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

**... ... ...**

_Previously..._

_Changing the topic, Cagalli said, "So I guess this isn't from you right?" Cagalli waved a folded piece of paper in front of Meyrin. "I just received it."_

"_W-What? No! It's not!" Meyrin quickly replied. "I already stopped!"_

_Smiling gently back at the magenta haired girl, Cagalli unfolded the paper. Her eyes widened in disbelief._

_Knowing something was wrong, Shinn and Athrun rushed over to Cagalli and read the contents of the letter. It said:_

_**I know your secret.**_

**... ... ...**

Chapter 19

"Cagalli, stop pacing around. You're making me dizzy," Kira told his sister who was walking back and forth for the last half an hour.

"Kira I'm doomed! Doomed I tell you!" Cagalli lamented.

Kira sighed. Just a few hours ago, Cagalli received a letter revealing that somebody in their school knew her secret. Now, the twins were back home thinking of a solution.

"For all we know, it could be just another prank. Cagalli, are you really sure?" Kira asked.

"Yes Kira, whoever knows!" she snapped back.

"There's nothing much we can do now," Kira said calmly. "I mean, the person hasn't even stated his demand yet. He probably just wants to see some chaos."

Cagalli finally joined her brother on the couch. He was right after all. No point panicking now. Whoever that person was probably just wanted to mess with her head.

"So how did you convince Athrun?" Kira asked. "He saw the letter too didn't he?"

"Oh..., that," Cagalli replied.

_Flashback_

"_Cagalli?" Athrun looked at the blonde confused. What secret could she be hiding?_

"_I think it's time to tell him, Cagalli," Shinn spoke up._

_Cagalli was horrified. No. She couldn't tell Athrun just yet. She was not mentally prepared. She glared at Shinn. Threatening him, no, begging him not to tell._

"_What's going on?" Athrun asked anxious. What could Cagalli be keeping from him?_

"_You see...," Shinn started._

_Cagalli was screaming inside her head. She would have already pounced on Shinn had Athrun not blocked her way._

"_Cagalli's joining the beauty pageant," Shinn said bluntly._

"_What? You are?" Athrun asked._

"_Huh? I am?" Cagalli asked._

_End of flashback_

"You're joining the pageant?" Kira asked Cagalli.

"Yes apparently. And you've got Shinn to thank for that," Cagalli said annoyed.

"Did Athrun buy it?" Kira asked.

"Yea, I think he did. Shinn did a job in convincing him," Cagalli replied.

"Do you want me to kill Shinn for you?" Kira asked his sister. He knew that she was probably pissed off with Shinn.

"It's alright," Cagalli lazily waved a hand. "I've already taken care of him. I doubt he would be coming to school for the next few days."

_The next day..._

"Cagalli! I didn't know you're joining the pageant! You didn't tell me!" Lacus suddenly appeared in the school hall, accusing Cagalli of hiding something so important.

"I didn't know either..." Cagalli muttered quietly to herself.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch that," Lacus said.

"I made a bet with Shinn and I lost," Cagalli said. "Now I have to join the pageant as punishment. It was suppose to be a secret until then but now everyone knows," Cagalli took a quick glance at Athrun. He looked liked he believed it.

"I'm so excited Cagalli!" Lacus clasped her hands together. "We have to go shopping! You know, for the evening gown and all!"

Cagalli made a face. Great. She had to be subjected to this torture too. It was the consequence of lying in the first place.

"Let's go today after school!" Lacus said excitedly. "I'll ask Mir to come along. It's only too bad that Shiho can't come too. She has to make sure that Yzak doesn't skip out on his anger management classes."

The girls won the fund raising competition. It was a very close one. The boys lost by a miserable ten bucks. Yzak blamed the traitor, Dearka, for them losing. The latter had betrayed them by buying a meal from the girls' cafe just to please his girlfriend. As the girls emerged victorious, Shiho took the opportunity and forced Yzak to go for therapy.

_After school..._

Immediately after the final bell rang, Lacus dragged Cagalli out of school to the mall. Athrun and Miriallia tagged along.

"Cagalli get into this one!" Lacus said as she shoved Cagalli into the changing room. "Try this one too!" Lacus said as she tossed another gown to Cagalli.

Cagalli was handed thousands of gowns all in a myriad of colours and different designs. Some had giant bows while others had sparkles and gems intricately embedded in. Cagalli preferred the plainer ones but she was still going to strangle Shinn for all of this. There was no contemplation on that.

"Cagalli, are you done?" Lacus asked impatiently. "Tell you what, let me help you," Lacus said as she forced her way into the changing room with Cagalli.

"Lacus, get Cagalli to try this one!" Miriallia joined in as she tossed another dress over to Lacus.

Athrun sat by the sofa outside the changing room and waited patiently for the girls.

"Cagalli! Stop being difficult!" Lacus commanded. "Mir! Come in! I need your help!"

Without hesitation, Miriallia jumped in.

Outside, Athrun wondered how the three of them managed to squeeze in and his face paled upon hearing screams.

"Grab her!"

"No! Pull it!"

"Athrun! Helpp meee!"

"Let's try this one!"

"Grab her legs! I'll handle the top!"

"Force her in!"

"Pull!"

Miriallia and Lacus acted like maniacs and Athrun feared for his girlfriend's safety. Finally, after what seemed like hours, Lacus and Miriallia emerged out of the changing room. Both of them had dishevelled appearances and were covered in sweat.

"Presenting, the future Miss Archangel!" Miriallia announced as she and Lacus made way for Cagalli to walk out.

Athrun's breath was blown away instantly. Cagalli wore a strapless pale blue gown embedded with tiny glass bead sequencing. It was as if Cagalli came out from a fairytale. The other shoppers, who were passing by, all stopped to marvel at Cagalli's beauty.

"So Athrun, what do you have to say to us?" Miriallia joked.

"Thank you," Athrun murmured, as he continued to look at Cagalli. Not once did his eyes leave her.

"Hey! I heard that you know!" Cagalli snapped. "It's not as if you haven't seen me in a dress before so stop gaping! And same goes for the rest of you!" Cagalli pointed to the onlookers who were staring at her too.

_The day of the pageant..._

The day that all the male population in the school looked forward to finally came. The students were gathered in the auditorium for the beauty pageant.

Cagalli sat by the vanity table in the makeshift dressing room. She hated her plight. She couldn't believe that she had to compete in some ridiculous beauty pageant just to cover up a lie. Maybe she should just pull out. She could do it. She could just say that she chickened out in the end. But then again, the Cagalli her friends knew was not a quitter. Cagalli sighed. This was going to be one hell of a torturous day.

"What do we have here?" Meer Campbell suddenly appeared beside Cagalli. "You're competing too Hibiki?"

"Yea, you've got a problem with that?" Cagalli replied annoyed. She was in no mood to entertain Meer.

"It's best for you to pull out now Hibiki," Meer told her menacingly. "Better save your face because I'm going to win."

"If you're so sure of winning Campbell, you don't have to worry about me," Cagalli retorted. Cagalli was now very sure. She was not going to pull out of the pageant. She was going to stick around to get onto Meer's nerves. Cagalli knew that was not very mature of her but she hated the thought of Meer poking fun of her for quitting.

"You're going to regret it Hibi... Oh Athrun!" Meer suddenly exclaimed.

Cagalli turned around and sure enough, her prince was standing by the side, a bouquet of tulips in his arms, glaring murderously at Meer.

"Are those for me?" Meer asked excitedly as she reached out for the flowers.

"No. They're for Cagalli, my girlfriend," Athrun stated flatly. He was very annoyed with Meer for treating Cagalli so badly.

"Aww... Don't be like this darling..." Meer said seductively.

"Move aside Campbell, you're in my way. It's annoying," Athrun said cruelly. "No, scratch that. You're annoying."

Meer stared at Athrun in shock. She couldn't believe that Athrun just said that to her. She? Annoying? "You'll regret saying that Athrun! Both of you will regret this! Hmpt!" Meer said as she walked off indignantly.

"These are for you," Athrun said as he handed the bouquet to Cagalli.

"Thanks," Cagalli blushed.

"Err... Good luck," Athrun said as he bent over to give Cagalli a peck on the cheeks. "I'll see you later ok?" he said as he left the dressing room.

The first round of the pageant was the swimsuit competition. Cagalli came out on stage wearing a green bikini. The other male students would have gone wild at Cagalli if it weren't for the over-protective boyfriend and brother sitting in the front row glaring threateningly at them.

The second round was the talent competition. Meer blew the students away with her voice, singing 'Quiet Night'. Cagalli was rather impressed. She never knew that Meer actually had some talent within her.

It was now Cagalli's turn to perform. As Meer walked backstage, she purposely stopped beside Cagalli.

"Beat that Hibiki," Meer smirked.

Ignoring Meer, Cagalli walked towards the grand piano placed in the middle of the stage. She was going to play 'River Flows in You' by Yiruma. That was her favourite piece and she decided to play it. The whole auditorium was silent except for the gentle melody that flowed through the air as her fingers ran over the ivory keys. Everyone was marvelled at the beautiful music she played. It was so calming. As she played the final note, the crowd erupted into applause. It was obvious that everyone enjoyed her music.

The third round, the evening gown completion, ended as soon as it started. Cagalli stood out the most, in a good way of course, with the grace and poise instilled to her as a child. Cagalli carried herself out much better than all the other girls.

"And the winner of Miss Archangel is..." Miss Murrue Ramius announced. Everyone waited in anticipation, though they had a clear idea who was going to win, only one person left such an impact on them.

"Meer Campbell, you are first runner-up, meaning Cagalli Hibiki, you are the new Miss Archangel!" Miss Ramius said.

"What?" Meer cried, appalled she didn't win.

"Miss Campbell, if you don't mind," Mr La Flaga said. "Please move out of the way for the reigning Miss Archangel to take her place."

Meer's eyes were as wide as a goldfish. "B-But..." Before she could complain anymore, she was chased out of the stage by Miss Badgiruel.

As Miss Ramius placed the banner and the crown on Cagalli, the rest of the gang ran up stage to see her.

"Congrats Cagalli!" Lacus gave the blonde a hug. "I knew you would win!"

"Of course Lacus," Kira said proudly. "She's my sister after all."

"Aww, you are all making her blush!" Miriallia teased as Cagalli's face resembled that of a over-ripened tomato.

**... ... ...**

"Cagalli! Hurry up or we're going to be late!" Kira hollered after his sister who was taking a long time.

"Sorry! I couldn't find my homework," she said as she rushed down the stairs. "Morning Athrun!" she greeted the bluenette who was waiting patiently by the front door. The three of them would always walk to school together since the twins' house was on Athrun's way to school.

There was a crowd gathered on the large steel gates of Archangel Academy.

"What's happening over there?" Kira asked curious as they approached the school.

"I don't know," Athrun replied.

"Maybe the teachers went on strike," Cagalli suggested. "We won't have classes then."

"Very funny Cagalli," Kira teased. "You're only saying that because you couldn't find your homework."

"I found it in the end ok!" she defended herself.

"But it's probably not done," Kira continued teasing.

"Of course it's done! The reason why I couldn't find it is because I did it one week ago," she retorted.

"There she is!" they heard someone yell.

There were sudden flashes of light. SNAP!

**To be continued...**

**I don't play the piano but I love listening to that piece by Yiruma. You should listen to it if you haven't heard it yet. Can you guess what's happening? It's obvious right?**


	20. Chapter 20

**Special thanks to trulyanimelover06 and all my reviewers. **

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Aihsire Atha, Alice, AngelfishXD, AsuCaga4ever, AyameRose, Blackcat8794, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, colourfulgurl, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Lynca Blanchard, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, Mwah Z, patzie24, ren, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, Sawagi-chan, stubbornheroine, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06, Tuna, VamyMeth, yuki001, Yuniee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

**... ... ...**

_Previously..._

"_What's happening over there?" Kira asked curious as they approached the school._

"_I don't know," Athrun replied._

"_Maybe the teachers went on strike," Cagalli suggested. "We won't have classes then."_

"_Very funny Cagalli," Kira teased. "You're only saying that because you couldn't find your homework."_

"_I found it in the end ok!" she defended herself._

"_But it's probably not done," Kira continued teasing._

"_Of course it's done! The reason why I couldn't find it is because I did it one week ago," she retorted._

"_There she is!" they heard someone yell._

_There were sudden flashes of light. SNAP!_

**... ... ...**

Chapter 20

There was suddenly a crowd surrounding Cagalli, many of whom were taking pictures, snapping away.

Kira and Shinn acted immediately. They both formed a human shield around Cagalli as they forced their way into the school compound. The teachers who were there at the gate, helped out as well, trying to block the group of people.

Athrun could only stand at the same spot and watch. He was confused and his body didn't react the way he wanted it to. He wanted to help and protect Cagalli but he ended up doing nothing.

Just then, he heard everything. He understood what was going on.

"We are here live outside the gates of Archangel Academy where the Princess of Orb, Cagalli Yula Athha, is schooled. The Princess of Orb has never made a public appearance before and this is the first time we have exclusive news on her..."

**... ... ...**

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Kira demanded crossly. He was angry that his sister's safety had nearly been compromised. He, Shinn and Cagalli were currently in the principal's office trying to deal with the situation at hand.

Cagalli was quiet all this while. All she could think about was Athrun. He was not with them and she wondered how he was reacting to the revelation. She cursed herself silently. How could things have come to this?

"Mr Yama...Your Highness..." Marrue corrected herself.

"You guys aren't involved in this right?" Kira demanded again.

The teachers had known all along and they were supposed to help keep their identities a secret.

"It couldn't be them," Shinn spoke up. He then passed the morning's newspaper to Kira. "Look," Shinn said pointing to the picture on the front page of Cagalli wearing a green gown. "This was taken during the party, meaning that it was probably some old geezer who spilled the beans to the media."

"Well whatever it is," Kira said. "We have to find out what's going on. It would also be best for Cagalli to stay at home for now."

**... ... ...**

Cagalli was walloping in misery at home for days. Athrun had refused to contact to her. He didn't reply to her text messages, nor answered her calls. Obviously, he was still angry at her for lying to him. The rest of the girls decided to drop by the twins' house and try to cheer Cagalli up. Though the girls found out about Cagalli the same time as Athrun did, they took the news much better than he did.

"You've got to get out more Cags. Moping around won't get Athrun back," Miriallia told the depressed blonde.

"Mir's right," Shiho agreed.

"I know what we should do!" Lacus suddenly exclaimed. "Let's have an all girls night out! Tonight! We'll go to the bar and have fun!"

"Yea that's a great idea!" Shiho and Miriallia agreed.

Cagalli had no choice of course. In the end, she was dragged off by the other girls.

The bar was relatively empty but the girls decided to sit in one of the booths by the quiet corner.

"Hello Cags, girls! How can I help you?" the bartender was a boy their age with tan complexion and brown hair. He was one of their school friends. He recognised Cagalli under the black wig she wore but knew better than to expose her to the public.

"Hey Ahmed!" Cagalli greeted. "Could you bring us four bottles of vodka please?"

"No problem girls!" Ahmed smiled.

"Cheers girls!" Miriallia said as she raised her bottle up. "Let's forget about those idiotic boys and drink to our hearts content!"

"Yea!" the other girls agreed as they joined in raising their bottles up. "To us girls!"

One by one, the girls started to drown their sorrows.

"Boys are scums!" Cagalli started.

"Yea! Stupid Dearka! Always flirting around with other girls when I'm not watching!" Miriallia complained.

"At least he doesn't shout and scream at you all the time!" Shiho cut in. "Sometimes I wonder why I'm the sucker who puts up with his nonsense!"

"You girls are better off than me!" it was Lacus' turn. "Kira has yet to officially ask me out! Or kiss me for that matter!"

"I'm going to kick Kira's ass for you Lacus!" Cagalli told the pink haired girl.

"I say they're all jerks!" Shiho said. "We deserve better!"

"Yea!"

A little while later, the girls were rather tipsy.

"Let's play 'shoot, shank, marry'!" Miriallia suggested while swaying from side to side on her seat. "You go first Cagalli!"

"Cagalli, you must choose! Athrun, Yuna and Kira! Which one will you shoot, shank and marry?" Shiho demanded pointing a finger to Cagalli..

"Eww! Incest! That's just plain wrong! I'll definitely shoot Kira!" Cagalli said folding her arms. "I'll marry Athrun!" Cagalli announced happily.

"No wait! Athrun can't be a choice! It's obvious you'll choose him!" Miriallia said. "So it's Yuna, Kira and... Hmm..." Miriallia thought for a while. Suddenly, her face lit up. "And Kuzzey!"

"You mean Mr Fuzzy Wuzzy Kuzzey?" Lacus giggled. "Ooo, I wonder how he looks like without his shirt on?" Lacus said not so innocently. Her face was as pink as her hair from all the alcohol she drank.

"Obviously very hairy! He's called Fuzzy Wuzzy for a reason!" Shiho said drinking more vodka. It was probably her forth bottle.

"Cagalli, you're not done yet! You have to choose between Yuna, Kira and Fuzzy Wuzzy Kuzzey!" Miriallia insisted bouncing on the sofa.

"I know you'll shoot Kira!" Shiho said. "And who in the right mind would marry Kuzzey? So you'll shank Kuzzey and marry Yuna!"

"What's wrong with marrying Mr Fuzzy Wuzzy?" Lacus asked as she hiccupped. "I'll choose him over Mr Seiran."

"I don't want to marry Yuna!" Cagalli wailed. "I want to marry Athrun!"

"You can't marry Athrun!" Shiho told her. "Athrun's not one of the three!"

"No! No!" Cagalli continued her childish drunken behavior. "I don't want to marry Yuna! I want Athrun! I WANT TO MAAARRRRY ATHRUUNNNN!"

_Athrun's POV_

_I was outside in my balcony staring at the night sky. I hadn't spoken to Cagalli, I had not gone to school for the past few days. I could not see her, not yet. I was confused, angry, hurt and disappointed that she would lie and keep such a big thing from me. The worst part was that Shinn knew and he helped her cover up._

_I have to admit, I haven't gotten over my jealousy of Shinn. Though there was nothing between them, they were close, close enough to share a secret and not let me in on it. I can understand Kira, but Shinn? He's only her friend and I'm... I'm her boyfriend. But it's apparent that she trusts him more than me._

_These past few days were torture to me. I kept thinking about her. I couldn't get her out of my mind. Her smile... Her laughter... Her face when she's angry... Her face when she's embarrassed... Was she thinking about me too? Or was it just one sided on my part?_

_The sudden ring of my phone broke my train of thoughts. I wondered who was calling. My caller ID stated it to be unknown._

"_Hello?" I answered._

"_Hey Athrun?" I heard and unfamiliar voice._

"_Yes, speaking," I said._

"_Umm... This is Ahmed from school," he said. Nope. The name doesn't ring a bell. "Your girlfriend and her other girl pals are drunk in my bar."_

_I called Kira and the other boys immediately and we made our way to the bar separately. I was the first to reach. As I searched the bar anxiously for the girls, I heard a voice- the voice that I longed to hear for days. It was her voice, there was no mistake about it._

"_I don't want to marry Yuna! I want Athrun! I WANT TO MAAARRRRY ATHRUUNNNN!"_

Normal POV

"Ohhhh! Athrun's heeere!" Lacus exclaimed when she spotted the bluenette approaching them warily.

Just then, Cagalli ran into Athrun's arms as she whimpered. "I don't want to marry Yuna! He's a horrible creep! I want to marry you, Athrun!"

Athrun held the girl awkwardly in his arms as he stared at her confused.

"Let's go home girrrrls!" Shiho announced. "Oh why is the floor moving?" Shiho frowned looking at the floor.

"You're right Shiho!" Lacus exclaimed. "Stop moving floor! You're making me dizzy!" Lacus looked down, scolding the ground.

Luckily for Athrun, who looked lost and had no idea what to do with the other drunken girls, the other boys arrived.

"Lacus!" Kira called out worried as he ran to the pink haired girl.

"You're finally here Kiraaa!" Lacus smiled to herself as she staggered around. "I had sooo much fun today! I learnt that Mr Fuzzy Wuzzy is actually very hairy!"

Kira stared at the wasted Lacus. Who the hell is Fuzzy Wuzzy?

Cagalli saw her twin's expression and she immediately knew what he was thinking. Pulling away from Athrun, she tugged Kira by the sleeve. Then, shaking her finger at him, she burst out laughing, "Seeecret!"

"Where's Mir?" Dearka suddenly asked. His girlfriend was not in sight.

"She went to the toileeeet!" Lacus said as she clutched onto Kira's arm for support. "I told you to stop moving floor!" she screamed at the floor.

"Oh no!" Cagalli exclaimed horrified. "She drowned in the toilet!"

"Poor Mir," Shiho frowned before she burst into sobs, leaving Yzak anxious. "Don't die Mir! You can't die!" Tuning to Yzak, Shiho pleaded, "You've got to save her Yzak! You've got to!"

"Don't worry, I will," Yzak tried to soothe his girlfriend.

"Oh no!" Shiho gasped. "But what if you drown in there too? I don't want you to die!"

"Then Dearka will save her," Yzak told Shiho. "Both Mir and I will be fine."

"I found her!" Dearka called out as he emerged from the ladies with a knocked out Miriallia in his arms. "She fell asleep in the toilet!"

Seeing the sleeping Miriallia, Cagalli announced, "I'm going to sleep too!" She then walked (staggered) to the long seats in the booth and settled herself down comfortably.

**... ... ...**

Athrun stared out in the open space again. He always liked to be alone to sort out his thoughts. Just last night, he had come home after putting the drunken Cagalli to sleep. He had stayed in her place for quite a while because she refused to part with him. He remembered looking at her sleeping face. It was so innocent, so sweet. Occasionally, she would stir in her sleep, whimpering away, begging Athrun not to leave her. Athrun heart sank when he saw how vulnerable she was. He already knew that he still loved her and could never bear to part with her, but he was still too stubborn to make up with her.

Just then, he's phone rang, disrupting his train of thoughts. He should really put his phone away, it was always disturbing him.

"Hello?" Athrun answered.

"YOU BASTARD! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" the other person shouted. Athrun knew instantly who that person was.

"What do you want Shinn?" Athrun replied annoyed.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? DON'T YOU KNOW CAGALLI IS LEAVING FOR ORB NOW?" Shinn yelled.

**To be continued...**

**The girls are OOC because they are drunk! And Fuzzy Wuzzy comes from the powerpuff girls! You know the pink hairy fur ball?**

**I know some of you didn't want Athrun to find out this way because it's rather common... I thought about it but I realised that I can write this way better, so I stuck with my original plan. Thanks for your suggestions anyway!**

**Hope you like this chapter! Some of you may be already be picking up the pieces and know what's going on... Or maybe some of you are confused? Well, some if not all will be revealed in the next chapter!**


	21. Chapter 21

**Special thanks to trulyanimelover06 and all my reviewers. **

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Aihsire Atha, , Alice, AlySimmons, AngelfishXD, asranZARA, AsuCaga4ever, AyameRose, Blackcat8794, Byron Lancaster, cagallifangurl, colourfulgurl, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Lynca Blanchard, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, Mwah Z, patzie24, precious1421, ren, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, Sawagi-chan, Serenity Venice, stubbornheroine, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06, Tuna, VamyMeth, yuki001, Yuniee**

**Did I miss out anyone?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

**... ... ...**

_Previously..._

_"Hello?" Athrun answered._

_"YOU BASTARD! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?" the other person shouted. Athrun knew instantly who that person was._

_"What do you want Shinn?" Athrun replied annoyed._

_"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? DON'T YOU KNOW CAGALLI IS LEAVING FOR ORB NOW?" Shinn yelled._

**... ... ...**

Cagalli sat alone in the airport lounge waiting for her brother. She and Kira were returning back to Orb. After Cagalli's identity as Orb's crown princess had been revealed to the whole world, it wasn't safe anymore for her to stay behind.

Cagalli's mind wondered off to the event the night before. The girls and her had gotten themselves dead drunk. She couldn't exactly remember what happened, she only knew that Athrun had brought her home. When she got up in the morning, she had a terrible hangover followed by a long melodramatic lecture by Kira.

"It's time to go Cagalli," Kira said gently.

The trip back was decided very last minute. The twins didn't even have time to bid farewell to their friends although Kira managed to make a quick call to Lacus. Shinn was staying behind in Orb, he would explain to the rest about the twins' sudden departure.

Cagalli got up as she followed her brother quietly to the boarding gate. She looked back, half hoping that Athrun would be there to stop her. She also knew that it was impossible. Athrun didn't know that she was leaving. How could he? He refused to contact her.

**... ... ...**

Athrun was soaked and panting very heavily when he reached the airport terminal. The taxi he took was stuck in a jam half way, making him run by foot the rest of the journey. It was as if the heavens were angry with him and wanted to punish him. Not long after he got off the taxi, it started pouring.

The first flight to Orb had already departed while the second was on boarding, Athrun had checked.

"Please, let her be in the second flight!" Athrun prayed to the heavens as he ran towards the departure gate.

"I'm sorry sir. You're not allowed to enter without a boarding pass," the security officer said to Athrun.

"I'm not going to board the plane. I just need to speak with my girlfriend," Athrun said.

"I'm sorry sir. You are causing a disturbance. Please leave now or we're going to have to arrest you," he threatened Athrun.

Athrun knew he had no other choice but to leave. Without his passport, there was no way Athrun could get into the departure hall.

Suddenly, an idea struck him. He knew how to get to Cagalli.

"Cagalli, wait! Please don't leave," Athrun's voice echoed through the entire airport. With a little charm and money, Athrun had managed to convince the girl at the reception to let him make an announcement.

"I've been an awful jerk and I'm so sorry. Please forgive me..."

"Umm, Mr Zala," someone interrupted Athrun. "Princess Cagalli was in the first flight..."

**... ... ...**

"I need to see her highness Princess Cagalli," Athrun told the guard at the large metal gates of the imperial palace.

"Do you have an appointment with her royal highness?" the guard asked nonchalantly.

"No," Athrun said slowly. "Not exactly. But I need to see her. I'm Athrun Zala. Tell her I'm here."

"No one is allowed to see her highness without an appointment," the guard insisted.

Athrun's patience was wearing thin. He had humiliated himself at the airport in the Plants for nothing. He had made a broadcast throughout the airport in his desperate attempt to stop Cagalli. However, his efforts were in vain when he found out that Cagalli was no longer in the airport and that her plane had already taken off.

He also went through hell just to get to Orb. He was nearly run over by a truck when he ran to the airport to catch a plane that he missed in the end. The weather didn't help either; it was raining cats and dogs. Athrun had looked like a drenched puppy when he reached the airport. Then, his private plane took an eternity to get ready. Athrun wondered if taking the commercial plane would be faster, but he thought of the long immigrations queue and the stringent security checks and decided taking his own plane would still be faster. That was one of the benefits of being the son of a business tycoon.

"I'm sorry, I think we should start over. I'm _Athrun Zala_." Athrun usually didn't like to use his family's influence but desperate times called for desperate measures.

The guard continued to stare at Athrun indifferently. He didn't seem to know who Athrun was. It was as if he had never heard of the Zala Corp. How was that even possible?

"Look, I really need to see Cagalli. I'm her boyfriend," Athrun said, clearly running out of patience.

"Oh, so are they," the guard pointed to a large group of young men at the side. They were all carrying bouquets of flowers and boxes of chocolates. Athrun hadn't notice them earlier and now that he had, he was disgusted. Athrun was the real deal, and here he had people pretending to be her boyfriend.

Athrun was not going to give up. He was just going to find another way to get into the palace. If only Cagalli could just answer her phone.

Athrun continued walking till he reached the back gates of the imperial palace. They really had tight security. There was no way Athrun could climb over the fences undetected. The only way into the palace was through the gates. Athrun cursed, he still needed a pass to get through the gates.

Just then, Athrun's luck had changed for the better. Someone had knocked onto Athrun and dropped all the things she was carrying.

"Stella is so sorry! Stella didn't mean to knock onto mister!" the blonde girl went into a frenzy.

Athrun stared at the weird girl who was referring to herself as the third party. She looked very familiar. He realised that she looked very identical to Cagalli. They could have passed off as one person if not for their eyes- this girl had violet orbs.

Snapping back into reality, Athrun bent down to help pick up the sea shells the girl had dropped. The blonde girl suddenly shot him a look of hostility as he handed the shells to her.

"Oh, it's just you," she said.

Athrun blinked. He realised that this girl was Cagalli's cousin. They had met before the last time Athrun was in Orb. Back then, he was out with Cagalli on their first date. It was no wonder she looked so familiar.

"What are you doing here?" her eyes narrowed at him.

"I've been a real jerk. I need to make things right between Cagalli and I again," Athrun said earnestly.

Stella was still skeptical about Athrun. Yes, he did sound sincere. But he had really hurt Cagalli. In his defense, Stella could say that Cagalli lied to him first. Stella sighed. Why were things so complicated? That she couldn't really understand.

"Please, can you help me get in?" Athrun asked.

Stella hesitated for a while. "Alright. Follow Stella."

Athrun did as he was told. He followed Stella to the back gate where she told the guards that Athrun was with her. He was really thankful.

"Stella's leaving now," she said once they were in a deserted corner of the place. "Try not to get noticed. Athrun has no visitor's pass. Athrun can't be caught," she warned him.

Athrun watched as Cagalli's strange cousin walked off. He now has to find Cagalli. But where should he start? The palace was practically a giant maze. Athrun was trying his best to recall the place. He vaguely remembered Shinn telling him about Cagalli's favourite place. Was it the rose garden? Athrun was not sure. He cursed himself for forgetting to ask Stella where Cagalli was. If only he could he could contact Kira or Cagalli herself.

"There you are!" someone suddenly exclaimed, making Athrun jump in surprise.

Athrun turned around to find a blonde woman- thin in the extreme- walking towards him.

"Hi, you must be the fengshui master," she said, pausing for a while to analyse Athrun.

Athrun shifted uncomfortably under her scrutinising gaze. Suddenly, Stella's warning earlier came back as a reminder. He couldn't get caught.

Acting impulsively, Athrun said hastily, "Yes! Of course! I'm Alex Dino."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Master Dino. I'm Amanda Fyde. His royal majesty has put me in charge," she said in a business-like manner.

Underneath the thick heavy make up the woman wore, Athrun saw that she had crow's feet. Amanda looked much younger from afar.

"... ... Pardon me Master Dino, but you look very young... "

Athrun wasn't really listening to a word Amanda was saying. He knew she was talking about fengshui and the palace but he was caught off guard when she suddenly changed topic and commented on his youthfulness.

"It's amazing what technology can do these days," Athrun found himself saying.

"You had botox?" the woman exclaimed.

"Err, yea. Something like that," Athrun said though botox was not the first thing in his mind.

"They did a very good job! I don't see any wrinkles!" Amanda said amazed.

"Yes, of course. I only have the best," Athrun said continuing his facade.

"Could you tell me where you did it?" she asked eagerly.

''I had it done in the Plants. Their technology is very advanced." Athrun told her.

"Can you give me the name of the place? I want to go there the next time I visit the Plants."

"Oh, I err forgot," Athrun said lamely.

"Forgot? But I'm sure you can remember at least the name of the clinic. I don't need the exact address," she pressed on.

Athrun quickly racked his head for any names. The woman looked like she wasn't going to give up anytime soon.

"Err... It's in December City, Second Avenue. I'm really bad in remembering names..." Athrun said.

"I suppose that will do," Amanda said as she scribbled down the address in her clipboard. "Shall we proceed to the rooms now?" she asked.

**... ... ...**

"Umm... everything looks fine here," Athrun said. He was wondering how he was going to escape and look for Cagalli. Amanda had led him into one of the guest bedrooms.

"Are you sure?" Amanda asked unconvinced.

Athrun walked around the bedroom one more time. He really had to say something intelligent soon or Amanda will find out that he's a phony.

"Well, if you really want to know what I think..." Athrun dragged; he was trying to buy more time for him to think.

"Yes," Amanda encouraged.

"The bed should not be placed directly in front of the door," Athrun pointed out. "Sleeping in line with the door will expose you to excessive Chi," he said hoping that what he said was right.

"Yes, yes. That makes sense!" Amanda agreed as she looked up from her clipboard and then continued making notes. "What else? Please continue Master Dino."

"Erm lastly," Athrun said. "You should never put a working desk or computer in the bedroom." Athrun looked back at Amanda before continuing to explain. "You see, the working desk and the bed are opposites of each other, work and rest. They're incompatible and hence cannot be placed together."

"Yes I agree!" Amanda nodded, looking as if she understood everything.

"I guess this is all for now Miss Fyde," Athrun said. Inside, he was full of relief for managing to fool her. "I'm a very busy man," he added.

"Yes of course Master Dino. But you have to see her highness's room first before you leave."

"Her highness's room?" Athrun echoed

"Yes, I would like you to inspect the Princess's room before you leave."

Athrun was nearly dizzy with excitement. There was a very high possibility he was going to meet Cagalli.

**... ... ...**

When they reached Cagalli's room- to Athrun's disappointment- the feisty blonde was no where in sight. The large French windows were open and the white satin curtains were flapping wildly.

"That's odd," Amanda said. "Her highness is supposed to be in her room."

Just then, they heard a scream from the window. Athrun and Amanda rushed over just in time to see one of the maids looking towards them in terror.

"P-Princess!" she stammered.

Athrun looked around frantically for Cagalli. He finally found her clinging to the wall of the second floor. What happened later nearly made Athrun's heart jump out of his chest.

"Coming through!" Cagalli called out to the people downstairs as she jumped off from the second story. To the people downstairs, Cagalli- dressed in a flowing silvery white gown- looked like an angel falling from the sky.

"Cagalli!" Athrun shouted. However, he voice was muffled out by cries from other people. There were shouting, "Your highness/ Princess! Be careful!"

Cagalli landed on some bushes below. Somehow, she managed to get away unscathed. Getting up almost instantly, Cagalli made a run for it. She ran deeper into the garden. The other people downstairs of course gave chase. "Your highness!" they called out in frenzy as they rushed to catch up with her. And boy, she was fast.

Athrun who was upstairs, saw everything. Ignoring the look Amanda was giving him, he climb out of the same widow Cagalli had used to escape. But instead of the bushes, Athrun aimed for the trees. With a few swift moves, Athrun gracefully landed on his feet as he swung down from the tree. He then joined the chase with the other people to catch Cagalli. It seemed with the almost instant response from the other servants, they were used to quickly running after Cagalli. Athrun smiled as he thought of his feisty princess. She was quite a trouble maker.

Athrun continued running. The garden was different from the other gardens in the palace. It was more of a forest with towering trees and wild flowers.

Athrun stopped for a while. It was no use continuing to run because Cagalli had already disappeared.

Suddenly, Athrun's phone rang.

"Hello?" Athrun picked up the call.

"Young master," Athrun immediately recognised the person in the other line. It was his family's ever loyal butler.

"What is it Alfred?"

"The master, your father, has a party tomorrow and he wishes you to join him. It would be wise to leave for the Plants as soon as possible sir."

"Ok, I understand. Thank you so much Alfred."

"It's my pleasure young master."

And the line went dead. Athrun sighed. Unless a miracle happened- which involved Cagalli suddenly appearing in front of him- Athrun would not be able to see Cagalli for quite some time. Athrun massaged his temples. He really missed Cagalli and he deeply regretted his childish behavior of ignoring her earlier on. This was his retribution for being unreasonable and not giving her a chance to explain earlier.

**... ... ...**

It was midnight when Athrun finally reached his mansion in the Plants. He was very tired and his whole body was sore. After all that he had been through, he still hadn't gotten a chance to apologise to Cagalli and make it up to her.

As he trudged up the stairs to his bedroom defeated, Athrun felt very miserable. He wondered if he was ever going to see Cagalli again.

"Hello Athrun."

Athrun stared at the blonde sitting at the end of his bed when he opened the door. She was smiling at him. It was exactly the way he remembered it to be- warm.

**To be continued...**

Hello everyone! Sorry for the extreme long wait. It has been (and still is) a very terrible month for me... I know it's no excuse... This story is suppose to be ending but I don't know what's taking me so long to end it. But thank you everyone for your support and patience!


	22. Chapter 22

**Thank you so much for reviewing! Your reviews have encouraged me to keep on going! And thank you Lynca for pointing out what I have forgotten =)**

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Aihsire Atha, , Alice, AlySimmons, AngelfishXD, asranZARA, ASUCAGAC.C, AsuCaga4ever, AthrunZala4ever, AyameRose, Blackcat8794, Byron Lancaster, B2utiful, cagallifangurl, colourfulgurl, Dandy352, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Lynca Blanchard, MisakaSuzuki, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, Mwah Z, patzie24, precious1421, ren, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, Sawagi-chan, Serenity Venice, stubbornheroine, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06, Tuna, VamyMeth, yuki001, Yuniee**

**Did I miss out anyone?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

**... ... ...**

Chapter 22

Cagalli curled up into a ball on her large canopy bed as she waited for the perfect opportunity to make her move. She was going to escape to the Plants though she had arrived back in Orb not too long ago. She had to see Athrun no matter what. She couldn't contact him before and she had no means whatsoever to contact him now- Kisaka, the head of security, had taken both Kira's and her phone for checking. Who knows for whatever safety reason? And he hasn't returned them.

Tick tock tick tock.

Cagalli watched the minute hand move very slowly. It was almost painful just to lie in bed doing nothing, waiting for the time to pass.

Tick tock tick tock.

Cagalli couldn't take it anymore. She got up and walked towards her closet. She was going to change into something more comfortable than the silvery gown she was wearing. Cargo pants and a tank top would be great.

Suddenly, Cagalli heard knocks on her door. Cagalli cursed under her breath. She was going to have to push up her plans and leave now. She didn't expect Amanda to arrive that early. Knowing Amanda, she was probably going to take a lot of Cagalli's time and Cagalli did not have the patience to wait any longer. Of course there was a possibility that it was not Amanda. But Cagalli did not want to take any chances.

"There's no time like the present!" Cagalli said to herself as she perched herself on the ledge of the window. Then, she clung on tight to the wall as she scooted herself away from the window. She made it just in time to be out of sight from her window as she heard the doors open.

Just then, Cagalli heard a scream from downstairs. She looked down just in time to see one of the maids as white as sheet.

"P-Princess!" the maid stammered.

Damn it! Cagalli had been caught. She has no choice now but to jump down immediately. There were bushes not too far away. She could aim for that. Pulling up the hem of her long gown, she shouted for the servants downstairs to make way.

"Coming through!" Cagalli shouted as she dropped from the second story.

"Your highness!" Cagalli heard the horrified and worried cries of the servants.

As Cagalli landed on the soft bushes, miraculously unscathed, she quickly picked herself up as she ran deeper into the garden. She knew it wouldn't be long before the servants will be at her tail.

Cagalli ran and ran, occasionally looking back to see if someone had caught onto her. She was now in the most secluded part of the garden. That part was more of a forest really than a garden. She looked for the tree with a green ribbon tied to its branch, it was her way out of the palace. There was a secret passage and Cagalli had often used that to escape the palace and go for her little adventures. Even Kira didn't know about the passage. Nobody knew except for Cagalli and Shinn- he was her partner in crime and they had often got into trouble together.

It was nightfall by the time Cagalli reached Athrun's mansion. She was very nervous about meeting Athrun. She wondered how he would react when he sees her at his doorstep. Will he turn her away? Cagalli took a deep breath as she pressed the bell.

Alfred, the old butler, answered the door and looked surprised when he saw Cagalli.

"Good evening, is Athrun in?" Cagalli asked.

"Good evening your highness," Alfred replied. "The young master will be home shortly. Would your highness like to come in?"

Cagalli stared at the old butler in shock. "You know who I am!"

"Of course. Both the young and the old master have been speaking fondly of your highness. Not to mention your highness has been the centre of the Plants' media recently."

"Oh..." Cagalli said as she followed him into the mansion.

"The young master's room is up there," Alfred showed her the way. "I'm sure the young master will have a pleasant surprise seeing her highness in his room."

"Please Alfred, just call me Cagalli."

"That wouldn't be very appropriate your hi..."

"I insist."

"Very well. How does Miss Cagalli sound?" Alfred said.

"I guess that's better..." Cagalli replied.

Alfred then left Cagalli to her own devices in Athrun's room. At first, Cagalli contented herself by sitting on the couch by the window, resting and waiting for Athrun to return. However in a matter of minutes, Cagalli grew restless and she decided to explore Athrun's room in greater detail.

Cagalli realised that Athrun did not have many photos in his room, or in the mansion for that matter. She only saw priceless paintings and art pieces displayed around the mansion but no photographs. As she thought about it, there were only two photographs and they were framed up and placed in Athrun's room. The rest, if there were any, were probably hidden away in some of the rooms for who knows what reason.

The first was a picture of herself- much to Cagalli's surprise. In the picture, Cagalli wore a loose white spaghetti strapped dress that was slightly above her knees. The picture was taken at the right time- with Cagalli turning around just in time to look at the camera with a wide smile and her golden locks flying in place.

Cagalli recognised that picture. It was Miriallia who sneaked up on Cagalli, catching her by surprise and taking the shot. She must admit, Miriallia was a very good photographer. Then Cagalli's mind wondered to why she was wearing that dress and she thought about Lacus. Lacus was not as sweet and angelic as everyone thought. That girl had manhandled Cagalli into wearing that hideous contraption.

Finally, Cagalli looked at the last photo. It was a family photo. Athrun, who was about six years old in the photo, stood in the middle with the Zala Corp's chairman and a woman with the same midnight blue hair as Athrun at the side. There was no doubt that the woman in the picture was Athrun's mother. She was very pretty and she looked a lot like Athrun. No, correction. Athrun looked like the carbon copy of his mother. Athrun could easily pass off as a girl. Cagalli giggled at the thought.

Walking towards Athrun's bed, Cagalli perched herself at the side and waited for the bluenette to come home.

**... ... ...**

Athrun was really surprised to see Cagalli in his room sitting at the edge of his bed. "C-Cagalli!" Athrun stammered. "What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in Orb," he said as he walked over to Cagalli.

Cagalli stood up. "Athrun, I..."

Just then, Athrun pulled her into a hug as he interrupted her. "I'm so sorry Cagalli," he said.

"No Athrun, it's my fault. I'm sorry. I should have been honest from the start," Cagalli said sadly as she pulled away, meeting his beautiful emerald eyes.

"Cagalli please, don't. It's my fault really. I've been such an awful jerk. You've had your reasons and I should have listened instead of acting immaturely." Athrun then brushed a few strands of golden hair away from Cagalli's face. "Don't blame yourself. It's my fault and I'm really sorry."

"I guess we're both to blame then," Cagalli smiled ruefully.

"I missed you," Athrun told Cagalli as he took her into his arms once more.

"I missed you too," Cagalli replied as she rested her head on his strong shoulders.

"Cagalli?" Athrun said after a while.

"Hmm? What is it?"

"Wait here. I have something to show you," Athrun said as he walked towards his bedside drawer.

Cagalli wondered, very curious to see what Athrun was up to. When Athrun came back, he took Cagalli's hands and placed a smooth and cool stone on her palms. Cagalli stared for a while at the red stone in her palm. It was a necklace and it looked awfully familiar.

"Do you recognise it?" Athrun asked and he smiled fondly at her.

"It's my Haumea stone," Cagalli gasped in surprise as she looked back up towards Athrun. "You're that boy at the park!"

Athrun laughed. "Yes I'm that boy."

"But... Oh... Well... Why didn't you say so earlier?" Cagalli nearly burst out shouting.

"Well, I only knew your name to be Athha then. And you were known to be a Hibiki in school before."

"Oh right..."

"You know," both of them said at the same time.

"You go first," Cagalli quickly said.

"No, you," Athrun insisted.

"No, I want you to go first," Cagalli was very stubborn.

"Ok fine," Athrun gave in. "I'm really glad to have met you Cagalli," Athrun said seriously as he looked deep into her amber orbs.

"I'm glad to have met you too Athrun," Cagalli replied as she smiled warmly back at him

**... ... ...**

Many days had passed and upon Cagalli's stubborn attitude and insistence, Cagalli and Kira came back to Archangel Academy to study. Though Kira wouldn't admit it out loud, he was actually very glad to be back. He had missed Lacus. Her reaction when she found out that Kira was the prince of Orb wasn't as bad and drastic as Athrun's had been. She forgave him almost immediately.

"So let me get this straight," Dearka said. "You are not the real daughter of King Uzumi but his niece actually. By birthright, you are still a princess of Orb because your real mother is King Uzumi's sister, thus making her a princess and making both you and Kira a princess and a prince. Did I get that right?"

"Yes finally Dearka! I wonder why it took you so long to get it! They've been explaining to us for hours!" Miriallia said exasperated.

"But I'm still confused!" Dearka said. "Why is Cagalli an Athha and Kira is not? Cagalli's the crown princess right?"

Miriallia sighed. "Gosh Dearka you are so slow. Let me explain it to you in layman terms. King Uzumi has a sister who is Princess Via. Princess Via married a man called Ulen Hibiki. Via and Ulen had twins called Kira and Cagalli. Cagalli's name was changed to Athha for reasons not explained to us yet because you can't seem to move on. Kira's real name is Hibiki but he is known as Yamato in school to hide his identity, which has been exposed know. And Cagalli randomly used Hibiki as her name to hide her identity as Princess Cagalli Yula Athha. Get it now?"

"Yes yes! I get it now!" Dearka said excitedly. "People can just google Kira Hibiki anytime so Kira used Yamato to hide his real identity!"

"Finally! Now we can move on!" Miriallia said rolling her eyes.

"So Cagalli what happened? Why did they change your name to Athha?" Shiho asked.

"I'm sure you know about my father, or uncle as you put it, King Uzumi. He had a wife who died a few days after childbirth," Cagalli paused for a while before continuing. "The truth was that both his wife and newborn daughter had been assassinated. Around the same time, our biological mother gave birth to us. Nobody knew she had twins and to cover up the murder of our cousin, I was taken. Orb was unstable at that time and things would have gotten worst had word got out to the public about the assassination."

"What happened to the assassin? Did you guys manage to get him in the end?" Miriallia asked.

"The assassin was shot dead almost instantly after he murdered our aunt and cousin," Kira said.

"I still don't get it. Why didn't they just announce that both died of disease or something? Why did they have to take Cagalli?" Dearka said.

"It's not as simple as that," Shinn said. "There was a motive. And that was to wipe out the royal family. It was more for safety reasons. If the crown princess was proclaimed dead, the next in line for target other than the King himself would be Princess Via and her children. With Cagalli there, she could keep the attention to herself. She would be the prime target."

"But that's just madness! And dangerous too! Have they even spared a thought for Cagalli's safety?" Miriallia said appalled.

"Of course they thought about my safety Mir," Cagalli replied gently. "It's easier to guard one person and keep that person safe than a group of them. That's why Kira and our biological parents have been trying to keep a low profile."

Just then, the school bell rang. And all the students started to leave the cafeteria. Kira stood up and beckoned Cagalli.

"It's time to go for our Geography class sis," Kira said as he slung one side of his backpack across his shoulders.

"Ok. See you later guys!" Cagalli waved goodbye to everyone.

"I thought you always walk her to class," Dearka said to Athrun.

"Not the classes she has with Kira," Athrun replied.

"Oooh! Athrun's scared of the over-protective brother!" Dearka teased.

"Oh stop disturbing him already Dearka," Miriallia said as she pulled her boyfriend's ear.

"Ouch! You're hurting me real deep Mir!" Dearka cried.

"Save your tears for someone who cares Dearka," Miriallia retorted as she dragged the tan boy off to their class.

**... ... ...**

"Psst! Kira!" Cagalli gave a light nudge to her brother.

"What?" Kira whispered as he quickly glanced at the teacher whose back was turned to them.

"Athrun's birthday is coming soon. We should organise some surprise party for him," Cagalli said as she copied down some notes from the board.

"I don't think that's such a good idea sis," Kira replied.

"Why not?" Cagalli asked.

"Athrun has not celebrated his birthday since his mother died," Kira explained.

"But that was ten years ago! There was no way he could have not celebrated his birthday for that long!" Cagalli exclaimed.

"Shh! Keep your volume down sis! I don't want to get into trouble!" Kira tried to hush Cagalli down.

"Oops sorry. But why?" Cagalli was quieter this time.

"Athrun's birthday is his mother's death anniversary."

Cagalli remained quiet as she let Kira continue.

"His mother died in a plane crash on her way to see Athrun for his birthday. Athrun blames himself for her death. That's why he's been all cold and aloof ever since. It took me quite a while to get through to him. His mother's death had an enormous impact on him. His relationship between his father suffered too..."

"Is there really nothing we can do then?" Cagalli asked sadly.

"I don't know Cagalli. I honestly don't know."

**... ... ...**

"Athrun," Cagalli hesitated for a while. She and Athrun were walking home from school. "Your birthday is in a few days." Cagalli had no idea what had gone through her mind to say that. Kira already knew it was a sensitive topic to Athrun. Was she trying to test him?

"Oh really? Oops, I guess I forgot about it," Athrun said lightly. In fact, it was too light for Cagalli's comfort.

Cagalli suddenly stopped walking. "Athrun," she said.

"What's wrong Cagalli?" Athrun stopped too. He looked back at Cagalli and saw the worry in her eyes. She knew. "Kira told you didn't he?"

"Yes," that was all Cagalli had said.

"It happened a long time ago Cagalli. You don't have to worry," Athrun assured Cagalli with a smile.

But Cagalli saw through the pain in his eyes.

"You still blame yourself. You haven't gotten over it," she stated rather bluntly.

"It's about to rain. We should hurry if we don't want to get caught in the rain and fall sick," Athrun said, determined to change the topic.

But Cagalli was as stubborn as ever. She refused to give up. She strode in front of Athrun and blocked his way.

"It's not your fault Athrun," Cagalli said with conviction.

"She wouldn't have died had I not asked her to come back for my birthday," Athrun said bitterly.

"It was an accident," Cagalli said. "There was nothing you could have possibly done."

"She wouldn't even be on the plane had I not insisted for her to come back in time for my birthday."

"Athrun, you were six then. Which six year old child wouldn't want his mother to be present on his birthday?"

"That's not a good excuse Cagalli!" Athrun nearly shouted. "My father has every right to hate me because I took away the person he loved most. If only I had been less selfish Cagalli... She wouldn't have died..." Just then, a lone tear dropped down from Athrun's eye.

"Your father doesn't hate you," Cagalli said. "No parent will ever hate his child."

"That's what everyone tells me. But do you know something Cagalli? My father has never celebrated my birthday with me not since my mother died. He has never really forgiven me Cagalli..."

Cagalli didn't know what to say anymore. She was just making things worse. She did the only thing she could do now. And that was to pull Athrun into her arms and let him cry. Athrun cried out all his pain and anguish he had been keeping for many years. And Cagalli stood there beside him, giving him the support he needed, soothing him and just being there for him.

**... ... ...**

"You may enter now your highness," the female secretary told Cagalli. The woman then opened the large oak doors to the chairman's office.

"You came to see me child?" the man behind the large Brazilian rosewood desk said. It was more of a statement than a question.

"Err, yes sir," Cagalli replied, feeling a little intimidated. She was in the Zaft Corp building in the central business district.

"Take a seat Cagalli," Chairman Zala gestured to one of the leather arm chairs in front of him. And Cagalli sat down immediately.

"So what brings you here?" he asked a little more gently this time.

Plucking up her courage, Cagalli took a deep breath before she answered. She was after all in front of the most influential man in the business world, a ruthless business tycoon.

"Athrun's birthday is coming up sir," she said.

There was an uncomfortable pregnant pause before the chairman finally answered.

"Why yes. How time flies..." he said.

There was another awkward silence between them and Cagalli broke it.

"When was the last time you celebrated Athrun's birthday with him?" Cagalli asked more daringly. Her question surprised Chairman Zala greatly. He had a very shocked look plastered on his aging face.

"It... It has been quite a while..." he replied after thinking for a long time.

"Why? Do you hate him?" Cagalli asked. "Do you blame him for her death?" Cagalli was very direct. Her earlier fears had diminished. She only wanted to understand the peculiar old man in front of her.

And again, Chairman Zala was taken back by Cagalli's complete lack of tact.

"You know about Lenore." Again it wasn't a question. It was a statement.

"You hate your son. You think he's to blame," Cagalli continued.

"What makes you say that?" Chairman Zala asked thoughtfully.

"What makes me say that?" Cagalli echoed back. "Even a blind man can see that you have something against your own son! You have treated him with nothing but coldness! Athrun doesn't have to tell me that you hate him because your actions already show it!"

There was another moment of silence.

"A-Athrun, he... he thinks I hate him?" Chairman Zala asked in disbelief. "Does it appear that way to you?"

"It appears that way even to the blind," Cagalli replied.

"... ... I-I've been a terrible father haven't I?" he said sadly.

Cagalli didn't say anything. She waited for him to continue.

"It's... It's not that I didn't want to celebrate his birthday with him or something. It was just... It was just too painful... He looked so much like her... Whenever I look at him, I see her... I don't hate him. I could never hate him, he's my son. Goodness... What have I done?" he said as he buried his face in his hands. "I was in so much pain when she left... I never blame him. It wasn't his fault; it was heaven's will... But he was a reminder of her to me, so I pushed him away... I buried myself in work... And neglected him... What kind of a father am I?" The chairman was full of remorse and sadness as he hunched back, reflecting and regretting his past actions.

"It's not too late," Cagalli told him. "It's never too late. Athrun, he... he's still waiting for you."

**... ... ...**

"Is it time yet?" Patrick asked Cagalli as he peered into the oven. He and Cagalli were baking a cake for Athrun's birthday. No one knows how Cagalli managed to get the Chairman of Zala Corps to bake.

"Err... I don't think so..." Cagalli replied as she peered into the oven as well to check the progress of the cake. "The book says one hour... but it has only been thirty minutes..."

"It looks burnt. Is it supposed to look like this?" Patrick asked again.

"Well... It's a chocolate cake isn't it? It's supposed to look brown?" Cagalli replied.

"Brown? It looks a bit black to me..." Patrick stated.

"Oh shoots! I think it really is burnt!" Cagalli exclaimed.

_Minutes later..._

"Is it edible?" Patrick asked. The black cake- resembling a rock- merely thudded heavily onto the table as Cagalli dropped it by accident. Fortunately or unfortunately, the cake didn't break. It was as hard as a rock.

"Well, I'm sure it's just black outside. We just have to cut the outer layer off and then it'll be edible!" Cagalli said optimistic.

"Should we just wait for Alfred to come back?" Patrick was rather sceptical.

**... ... ...**

It was in the early evening when Athrun reached home. Despite not wanting to celebrate his own birthday, Cagalli went ahead and gave him a birthday present. She gave it to him the day before and told him that he could only open it on his actual birthday- which was today. Athrun had spent the morning with Cagalli in the cemetery. They had paid respect to his mother. The rest of the day was spent in the Zala Corp. His father's secretary had loaded him a ton of work, muttering something about having to start helping out in the family business.

Athrun rang the bell in his house again. He had rung it four times now. He had no idea what was taking Alfred this long to answer the door. However, he was pleasantly surprised when it was Cagalli instead who answered the door. She was wearing a blue apron.

"Athrun! You're finally home!" she smiled at him. "Come on! Hurry in! I have a surprise for you!" Cagalli said as she ushered the bluenette into his own home.

"What's going on Cagalli?" Athrun wondered what was in store for him as the blonde dragged him into the dining hall. His guess was that Cagalli had cooked for him and knowing Cagalli's almost non-existent cooking skills, he was prepared to see the doctor the next day.

It was pitch black in the dining hall. The lights weren't turned on. However, as soon as Athrun entered the room, the lights went up and Athrun saw his father standing in front of him wearing a pink apron and holding a chocolate cake lighted up with white candles.

"Happy birthday son," Patrick mustered up the biggest smile he possibly could.

Athrun was speechless. His father was here on his birthday, holding a cake. He was even wearing an apron. Athrun immediately thought of his father in the kitchen.

"F-Father, d-did you bake that?" Athrun asked.

"Well... Not this one... Alfred did this," Patrick admitted. "The one Cagalli and I made is in the kitchen. We sort of... messed it up."

Athrun stared at his father and Cagalli for a while. There were so many emotions going through his head. For the first time in years, his father had come back to celebrate his birthday with him. He even made an extra effort to bake him a cake which didn't turn out so well in the end.

"I want the cake that you and Cagalli made," Athrun said.

"What?" Patrick and Cagalli said out loud together.

"I want to eat the cake you two baked for me," Athrun told them.

"But Athrun..." Cagalli tried to protest. She was too late as Alfred had gone into the kitchen and produced the messed up cake they had made earlier.

"It looks fine to me," Athrun said. And he was right. The cake looked rather edible, though people could tell with one glance that the cake was made by amateurs. Taking a fork from Alfred, Athrun took a small piece and put into his mouth.

"It's really good..." Athrun said in between mouthfuls of cake. There were tears brimming up in his brilliant emerald eyes. He was just too happy.

**... ... ...**

Two days later, Athrun, Cagalli, Kira, and Shinn were at Minerva Hotel for a Halloween party for the rich and famous. The four of them, being children of influential people, were invited. After a while, they grew bored and decided to leave the party halfway.

When they reached the lobby of the hotel, they saw a large crowd gathering outside the hotel doors. There were sudden flashes of light from them. Kira, who reacted almost instantly, pulled his sister into a corner, away from the cameras.

"Oh man! What are they doing here?" Shinn said annoyed. "Pesky irritating paparazzi, they seem to have nothing else better to do in life than to follow you around Cags."

"But Shinn, this _is _their life," Cagalli pointed out.

"So what should we do?" Shinn asked. "We can't go out now with them at our tail."

"Simple," Cagalli said as she looked at Kira with a sparkle in her eye.

"I don't like where this is going," Kira gulped.

_A while later..._

Athrun was staring at Kira in shock. He kept on looking at Kira and then back at Cagalli.

"Don't I at least get a say in this?" Kira protested.

"Hmm... No. Not really," Shinn replied as he helped adjust Kira's clothes. Kira was wearing a pale yellow gown with large silky purple ribbons similar to Cagalli. He could believe this was happening to him _again. _If there was an award for the world's greatest brother, Kira would have won it hands down for he things he did for his sister.

Athrun, on the other hand, could not keep his eyes off Kira. Not in the sick way but with disbelief.

"It's freaky isn't it?" Shinn said to Athrun. "They are so alike that even you cannot tell them apart."

"Alright Athrun," Cagalli said as she interrupted the two boys. "Let's go to the back now."

**... ... ...**

Athrun and Cagalli had barely escaped the paparazzi. They thought they could have gotten away using Kira as a decoy. However, they were wrong. There was another group of paparazzi hiding at an alley behind the hotel.

"Come on Athrun!" Cagalli said as she held on tight to Athrun. "Let's make a run for it!"

Athrun agreed as he ran with Cagalli. They were now on the main street. It was Halloween and there was a large procession in front of them. It was either the paparazzi or the large group of people. Of course, Cagalli chose to dive in to the procession, pulling Athrun with her. The paparazzi would have a harder time following them then.

"Cagalli, wait up! Slow down!" Athrun tried to tell her as they were separating. Athrun found it very hard to keep up with Cagalli. To make matters worst, there were so many people who looked like Cagalli- they were all dressed up as the princess of Orb for Halloween.

It took Athrun quite a while to break free of the crowd. He finally saw Cagalli at the side of the road. There was a suspicious looking black van beside where she stood. Suddenly, the doors of the van opened, revealing large men in masks. Everything happened so fast. The men grabbed Cagalli before she had any time to react. The next thing Athrun knew, he was running in vain after the black van that had sped off with his girlfriend.

"CAGALLI!" Athrun cried out. He didn't make it. The van had already disappeared from his sight.

**To be continued...**

**Alright this is the longest chapter I've ever done! And this is the second last chapter too. I hope it's not too abrupt though I did mention earlier that this was ending. Thank you again everyone for your patience and support! I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter!**


	23. Chapter 23

**This is the final chapter. Thank you everyone for your patience and support. I would not have made it this far without you guys. And finally, special thanks to trulyanimelover06 and Lynca Blanchard for helping me. Thanks for reading!**

**Dedications in alphabetical: .CriMsonxLadY., Aihsire Atha, , Alice, AlySimmons, AngelfishXD, asranZARA, ASUCAGAC.C, AsuCaga4ever, AthrunZala4ever, AyameRose, Blackcat8794, Byron Lancaster, B2utiful, cagallifangurl, colourfulgurl, C.C, Dandy352, Dhevz, eternalasucaga, Fii aka Ficchan, hellopanda23, Jodeist, Joker Oak, Katina Uchiha, kamille murasame, KazumiSakura, Litari Hatake, Lynca Blanchard, MisakaSuzuki, Miyu Nanami, mokonamodoki93, mrs. zala, Mwah Z, patzie24, precious1421, ren, sakurayamato1, SaKuRaYukIe, Sandyx5, Sawagi-chan, Serenity Venice, stubbornheroine, The Blue Mask-cara, The Only Love For Soujiro Seta, trulyanimelover06, Tuna, VamyMeth, yuki001, Yuniee**

**Disclaimer: I do not own gundam seed.**

**... ... ...**

_Previously..._

_Everything happened so fast. The men grabbed Cagalli before she had any time to react. The next thing Athrun knew, he was running in vain after the black van that had sped off with his girlfriend._

"_CAGALLI!" Athrun cried out. He didn't make it. The van had already disappeared from his sight._

**... ... ...**

Chapter 23

"Athrun!" Shinn called out to the bluenette when he spotted him slumped to the roadside. "What's wrong? Where's Cagalli?"

"Damn it Shinn!" Athrun cursed as his fist punched the ground. "They took her and I let them get away!" tears were brimming up in his eyes.

"What? Who are they? What happened?" Shinn demanded as he grabbed Athrun by the collar. "You were supposed to protect her damn it!"

Athrun didn't even try to resist Shinn. He had failed to protect Cagalli. "They were masked. They just took her," Athrun bit back his lips to prevent his tears from falling.

"Took who?"

Athrun and Shinn turned around upon hearing the familiar voice.

"C-Cagalli?" Athrun was stunned. The said blonde was in front of him, perfectly fine and unscathed. Shinn too looked like he saw a ghost.

"I've been looking all over for you guys! Where's Kira?" There was a curious look on Cagalli's face.

"Kira?" Athrun asked a little confused.

"Oh shit, I think they took him!" Shinn said in realisation.

**... ... ...**

"_What's going on?" _Kira's mind was in a whirl. He was waiting for Shinn one moment and he felt rough hands grabbing him the next. He blanked out immediately after. His hands and legs were bounded and a sack covered his head, not allowing him to see anything.

In a matter of seconds, Kira came to realisation. He was mistaken for Cagalli and kidnapped. Cagalli was probably safe somewhere and he thanked heavens for that. The ground was shaking slightly and Kira reckoned he was in a vehicle.

The van skidded to a halt and Kira jerked forward.

"_Ouch! That hurts!" _Kira said to himself. It wasn't long before he heard the door opening and he was lifted up and hauled across the shoulder of one of the men.

"I wonder what she has been feeding herself with? She weighs a ton!" said the man who was carrying him.

"_I so do not!" _Kira wanted to say aloud but he couldn't because his mouth was gagged.

"Stop complaining," said another man. "Here, just pass her to me."

Kira felt himself being tossed around like a sack of potatoes.

"You're right. This little princess needs to go on a diet."

"_My weight is perfectly normal!" _Kira thought to himself.

The man carrying Kira stopped walking and Kira heard screeching sound. It sounded like rusty metal doors opening. It wasn't long before Kira felt himself being placed on the ground- not too gently.

"Man! My arms feel like they're going to break!" said the man who carried Kira.

"_Oh please, you're exaggerating. You're just a wimp," _Kira said to himself as he rolled his eyes. Not only was he being kidnapped, but being insulted too. _"I'm not fat."_

Kira squinted as the bright light suddenly gushed into his eyes. The sack had been removed from his head and the tape had been removed from his mouth.

"_Ouch," _he wanted to say but his eyes widened in surprise at the person in front of him.

"You!" Kira's voice was a little higher than intended. But it was better this way. He didn't want anyone to find out his real identity just yet. He could be in big trouble, no, he was already in trouble. He just needed time to find out what was going on and plan his escape.

He recognised the girl in front of him. He had seen her too often in school.

"Surprise to see me Princess Cagalli?" the girl smirked.

**... ... ...**

"Kisaka! You're here!" Cagalli ran into the arms of her ex-bodyguard. Ledonir Kisaka was the current head of security of the palace.

"It's good to see you Cagalli," the large-built man returned her hug. They were all gathered in the Orb embassy of the Plants.

"Kisaka! Something terrible has happened!" Cagalli was going hysterical. "Kira has been kidnapped!"

"Is that so? What happened?" Kisaka asked.

"He was mistaken for me and some masked men took him away in a van," she told him sadly. "And what are you doing all the way here in Plants? Shouldn't you be in Orb?"

"Well, with the amount of trouble you two always get into, I figured it would be better if I was close by," Kisaka replied.

"You came in the right time Kisaka," Shinn said.

"I guess I did," Kisaka said. "Did any of you see the plate number of the van?"

"It had no plate number," Athrun spoke up.

"Should we call the local authorities? We haven't notified them yet," Shinn said.

"I don't think that would be wise Shinn," Athrun told him. "Imagine what a huge commotion it'll cause. The media will find out and things will get even messier."

"But what do we do now? I mean, we can't just sit down and wait. Kira could be comatose for all we know." Shinn said.

"Oh this is my fault," Cagalli was reproachful of herself. After all, it was she who got Kira to dress up as her.

"No, it's not," Athrun said firmly. "Kira won't have it any other way. Besides, Kira can take care of himself."

"You don't have to worry so much Cagalli," Kisaka assured the sad princess. "We're going to find him. We have a tracking system after all."

"A tracking system?" Cagalli perked up.

"Yea, how do you think I know where you always run off to?" Kisaka smiled at the blonde who looked like she was about to explode any time soon.

**... ... ...**

"Meyrin," Kira's voice was filled with disgust when he saw the magenta haired girl.

"You don't look happy to see me princess," she smirked.

"Why should I?" Kira retorted.

"I thought you would treat me a lot nicer," Meyrin mused. "I guess I was wrong."

"It was you all along wasn't it? You make a fine actress Meyrin. You really had us fooled."

"Why, I'll take that as a compliment," she smiled.

"So it was you who threatened and exposed Ca... me!" Kira nearly gave himself away.

"Not really princess," a new voice emerged from behind. "I was the one who took the picture and gave it to the media."

"Durandal," Kira's eyes narrowed at the man with the long wavy black hair.

"You don't sound too good princess," Durandal commented. "Are you sick?"

"_Crap! He noticed!" _Kira cursed. "Yes, the sight of you two makes me sick," Kira said. He reckoned Cagalli would behave this way.

"Still as feisty as ever I see..." Durandal mused.

"_Ok... Maybe he hasn't found out..." _Kira had a sigh of relief.

"Why are you doing this? What reasons do you have?" Kira asked. He had to find out what was going on. Why was Cagalli targeted?

Durandal laughed as he motioned for a chair to be brought over for him to sit.

"Do you still remember about your dead aunt and cousin?" Durandal asked as he sat down on the arm chair.

"How did you know about my cousin? Unless... You were behind the assassination!" Kira accused.

"Very smart princess," Durandal said. "But do you know why?"

Kira kept quiet. He was not sure of the reason yet. Was it for power?

"No? You don't know? Ask me why then," Durandal said.

"Why?" Kira followed and asked.

"Revenge," Durandal stated simply. "Your uncle, that no good King of Orb, took everything from me. So I want to make him pay."

"And you killed our aunt and cousin for it," Kira was seething with anger.

"Yes," he replied.

"Then why..."

"Why you?" Durandal asked Kira.

Kira nodded his head.

"I guess it wasn't enough. I wanted him to suffer more. He loved you as his own. I want him to watch all his love ones die before him," he then continued. "Patrick Zala, Athha and I were best friends back in our high school days. We were all students of Archangel Academy. Athha and I fell for the same girl. Talia Gladys was a few years our junior. Her name rings a bell, no? She's a teacher in your school."

Durandal paused for a while, making sure Kira, who he thought was Cagalli, was listening.

"Talia chose him over me. Because I loved her, I let her go. I warned him never to break her heart. But he did in the end; he left her and married that woman, Maria Spencer. Talia was devastated. I told her to come back to me, but she didn't. She said she didn't love me and though she didn't like his decision of marrying that Spencer girl, she respected it. She said it was best for Orb at that time."

"So you murdered two innocent people all because you couldn't get what you wanted? That's just disgusting," Kira spat out.

"You don't get it," Durandal said shaking his head. "He made Talia miserable. He made me suffer for years. Do you think he deserves happiness? I don't think so!"

"It doesn't matter! Killing innocents is just wrong!" Kira yelled angrily.

Durandal merely smiled. "I have to go now but I'll leave Meyrin here in your company," he said as he left the warehouse, the other men following him. "Get two of your men to stay guard. I'm not taking any chances of our princess escaping."

Kira was alone with Meyrin in the warehouse. The rest either left with Durandal or stayed guard outside. Kira was mad. He couldn't get over his aunt's and cousin's death. They were innocent. Kira knew he had to do something.

Just then, Kira spotted his green friend perched at the ledge of the small window on top.

"What's so funny?" Meyrin snapped at him when she saw him smiling to himself.

Kira suddenly thought of a plan. "Come here for a while. I have something to tell you about Athrun," he told her.

Meyrin was suspicious at first but the moment Athrun's name was mentioned, she practically flew to Kira.

"What is it?" she asked eagerly. And before she knew it, she was knocked out cold by Kira who head butted her when she was close enough.

"That's for my sister!" Kira said. He then called for Torii who flew down with a sharp object for Kira to cut the ropes.

Next, he took some ropes and tied Meyrin to one of the poles. He pasted a tape over her mouth to gag her. Finally, he took out his wig and put it on Meyrin. His dress was also taken off and hidden away in a corner. Kira was thankful that he was wearing another set of clothes inside.

As Kira was about to put the next phase of his plans into action, the large metal doors started opening.

"Shit!" Kira cursed.

As Kira prepared himself for what was about to come, the least he expected happened.

"Kira!" he heard the familiar voice of his sister.

"Cagalli!" he called after her as she ran to his arms.

"I'm so glad you're ok!" the twins said in unison. Then they broke into laughter. It was then when Kira noticed that Cagalli was not alone. Athrun and Shinn together with Kisaka and a platoon of Orb guards came along.

"Who is she?" Shinn noticed the knocked-out Meyrin with a blonde wig and pointed to her.

**... ... ...**

A month has passed since the kidnapping incident. Durandal and Meyrin were both trailed and charged in court. The recordings from Torii as well as other evidences were enough to put then behind bars for ten life times.

Now the usual gang with the addition of Stella were in one of the Zala islands in the Caribbean. Athrun invited them there for the holidays.

"Heads up!" Shiho shouted as the volleyball flew towards Dearka.

Dearka who was busy ogling at his girlfriend's body didn't react in time and was knocked out cold by the ball.

SNAP! Miriallia took a picture of that glorifying moment for Dearka and giggled. "Perverted Dearka! This serves you right!"

"Come on Shinn! Stella wants to pick up sea shells!" the blonde who had an uncanny resemblance to Cagalli dragged the helpless Shinn away towards the shore.

Meanwhile, Kira was being buried alive by Lacus, literally. Kira was lying down on the soft golden sand as Lacus giggled away, playing and covering Kira with sand.

"Come on Zala! We have to get our acts straight! We can't lose to two girls!" the ever pissed-off Yzak told the bluenette.

The volleyball game ended soon after as Cagalli gave the two boys the final death blow, spiking the ball down hard. Athrun and Yzak, who went for the ball at the same time, ended up colliding into each other.

"Great job Cags!" Shiho said in delight as the two girls gave each other a high five.

"We should do this more often!" Cagalli smiled.

"Yea we work well together!" Shiho agreed.

"So you girls won?" Miriallia asked excitedly.

"Yup!" Cagalli and Shiho said proudly.

"Heard that Kira?" Lacus said as she patted Kira lightly on the shoulder. "Pay up please," she smiled sweetly at him.

"Oh man..." Kira said disappointed. "What kind of men are you two? How can you lose to two girls?" Kira scolded his two friends, though he knew deep down inside Cagalli and Shiho would win.

"Hey wake up Dearka!" Miriallia said as she tried to get her boyfriend up. "I want my money! I won!"

"This is all Zala's fault!" Yzak was indignant of losing.

"Just suck it up Yzak and stop being a sore loser!" Shiho told him.

"Woman! Why, you?"

**... ... ...**

It was dark and Athrun and Cagalli lay side by side under the stars on the soft sand. The Haumea stone which hung on Athrun's chest gleamed into a bright crimson under the moonlight.

"Cagalli," Athrun whispered into Cagalli's ear, making her feel tingly all over.

"Yes?" Cagalli replied.

"I'm really glad to have met you Cagalli. You're the best thing that has happened to me in a long time," Athrun said to Cagalli, making her turn beat red. Cagalli has been with Athrun for so long, yet he has never failed to make her blush. But unknown to Cagalli, Athrun was blushing too.

"You're the best thing that happened to me too," Cagalli replied as she snuggled closer to Athrun.

"I love you," they suddenly said together.

"I love you too," once again they said in unison.

They both smiled at each other, enjoying each other's warmth and company.

"Thank you Athrun," Cagalli said. "For making me happy."

"I want to thank you too Cagalli," Athrun said. "For showing me what it is to be happy."

After a while, Cagalli broke the silence again. "Should we go back now and help the others prepare dinner?" she asked.

"No, I think they can manage on their own," Athrun smiled. "Besides I want to be alone with you."

"Ok then," Cagalli smiled back. "I want that too."

All of a sudden, they heard movements from the back. They turned around just in time to find Dearka standing in front of them grinning mischievously. The others were behind him, looking at them with a weird smile.

"FOOD FIGHT!"

**The end...**


End file.
